Gi Ong Portrait, Jangseong

This is a portrait of Byeon Jong-rak, sobriquet Gi Ong, a civil official of the Joseon dynasty. It is said to have been painted by a Buddhist monk on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday, and it departs from the conventional style of Joseon-period portraits of scholar-officials, appearing instead to be a genre-painting-like figure portrait. That is, rather than conveying the solemnity of a scholar-official and the air of a Confucian gentleman, it instead depicts anecdotes handed down about him. The go board, go stones, wine bottle and pipe arranged within the picture can be seen as elements conveying the anecdote that, while living in Jangan-ri, Jangseong-eup, he dug a pond in front of the village entrance, built an island in its middle with a pavilion on it, and spent his remaining years there playing go, drinking and writing with masters skilled in those pursuits. His neatly arranged headgear and clothing, and his posture with both hands clasped before him in a formal gesture of respect, are not especially natural, and fall short of conveying his character and personality. Nonetheless, it is noteworthy as an unusual example of portrait composition.

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Where it is

Region

Jangseong, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산