Portrait of Yu Eon-ho

This is a portrait of Yu Eon-ho (1730–1796), a scholar of the late Joseon period, painted when he was 58. Yu Eon-ho belonged to the Gigye Yu clan; his courtesy name was Sagyeong and his pen name Chikjiheon, and he was a leading civil official during the reign of King Jeongjo. From the time Jeongjo was still crown prince, Yu Eon-ho served and supported him ably and was held in great favour; after Jeongjo ascended the throne, Yu Eon-ho took part in founding the Gyujanggak, the royal library, served as its deputy director, and eventually rose to the post of Left State Councillor. An inscription on the left of the painting, recording that it was painted by the court painter Yi Myeong-gi, shows that the Portrait of Yu Eon-ho was made in 1787. Yi Myeong-gi, who also took part in producing King Jeongjo's royal portrait, was one of the finest painters of his day. An appraisal in King Jeongjo's own hand is also recorded at the top of the painting. The Portrait of Yu Eon-ho shows him standing in full official dress, an osamo, a black gauze cap, and a dallyeongpo, a round-collared robe, fitted with a rank badge; while standing portraits in everyday or informal dress do exist, this is thought to be the earliest surviving example of a standing portrait in full ceremonial court dress. The device of showing the right hand peeking out slightly as it grips the end of the left sleeve, even though the figure stands, resembles the treatment in Yi Myeong-gi's Portrait of Gang Se-hwang at Seventy-One. As in Yi Myeong-gi's other portraits, the modelling of the face has a vivid sense of volume and the shading in the folds of the clothing is distinct; the dark ink washes beneath the sleeve ends and the depiction of the shadow the robe casts onto the flower-patterned mat below are especially striking. A further inscription notes that the face and body were rendered at half their true size, showing that the painting was made by calculating a fixed ratio between Yu Eon-ho's actual height and the height of the figure in the portrait — a notable feature of the work. The Portrait of Yu Eon-ho was kept by the Gigye Yu clan, Yu Eon-ho's descendants, until it was donated to the Gyujanggak on 11 December 1997.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gwanak-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물