Portrait of Seo Jik-su

Seo Jik-su (1735–?) belonged to the Dalseong clan; his courtesy name was Gyeongji and his pen name Sibuheon. A nephew of Chief State Councillor Seo Myeong-gyun, he held the jinsa literary licentiate degree but never entered official service, spending his life instead on poetry, calligraphy and painting. An inscription in Seo Jik-su's own hand appears in the upper right of the painting, revealing that it is a collaborative work made in 1796, when Seo was sixty-two: Yi Myeong-gi, the foremost portrait painter of the day, painted the face, while Kim Hong-do painted the body. The portrait shows Seo Jik-su standing full-length in an eight-tenths left-facing view, wearing a dongpagwan cap and a dopo robe with a black braided sash, standing in his socked feet without shoes. While most Joseon-period portraits show the sitter seated, this is a standing portrait set indoors, and it is further distinguished by being a joint work of two of the leading painters of the age. With its outstanding rendering of form, its handling of perspective and shading, and its great dignity, it is regarded as a masterpiece among portraits of King Jeongjo's reign. It measures 148.8 x 72 cm (height x width).

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Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물