Nokundogam Seonsaeoseon Yeon Assembly Painting

This painting is a type of gyehoedo, a painting commemorating a gathering of officials, depicting a royal banquet bestowed by King Gwanghaegun in 1613, the fifth year of his reign, to console the officials of the Nokhundogam - a temporary office set up to prepare the naming of a total of 170 meritorious subjects in the four categories of Wiseong, Iksa, Jeongun and Hyeongnan - for their efforts. It is coloured mainly in red and green, and painted with relatively forceful, sharp brushstrokes. The composition consists broadly of three parts: a title written in seal script reading "Nokhundogam Seonsaeoseon Yeonhoedo" (Painting of the Banquet of Royal Food Bestowed by the Nokhundogam), the banquet scene itself, and an admiring inscription in the form of a heptasyllabic regulated verse by Yi Hang-bok, pen name Baeksa (1556-1618). Unlike other gyehoedo of the same period, which placed greater emphasis on the landscape background than on the gathering itself, this painting is distinctive in giving prominence to the building and the gathering itself. The painting shows that the officials of the dogam were seated in different positions and order according to their official rank. Against the north wall of the building sit three figures who appear to be dangsang, senior officials of the third rank and above; to the east sits one figure, and to the west five figures, each seated before an individual table. To the south, from right to left, groups of two, three and five figures are seated, each set slightly further back according to rank. As no Royal Protocols for the Nokhundogam survive today, the exact composition of the office's leadership cannot be known in detail, but the figures in the painting are thought to be the senior officials and clerks of the Nokhundogam, who were responsible for producing the meritorious-subject certificate scrolls and portraits bestowed on the meritorious subjects, preparing the royal gifts, and compiling the Royal Protocols. In addition to these roughly twenty officials of the dogam, the painting depicts about forty more figures standing outside the building: junior officials, dancers, serving gisaeng, and musicians. These figures show relatively freer expressions and postures than those found in earlier gyehoedo. At the bottom of the gyehoedo there would originally have been a list of attendees with brief personal details, but this is now missing; in its place is an admiring verse by Yi Hang-bok, whose text is also recorded, under the title "Je Nokhundogam Yeonhoedo," in his collected writings, the Baeksajip. Although part of the painting has flaked away and shows traces of later retouching and repainting, this does not hinder an understanding of its original appearance, and the work is significant in allowing us to understand the changing style of gyehoedo in the mid-Joseon period and the shifting circumstances of the age. It also holds value as a source that illuminates the appearance of mid-Joseon banquets, including the arrangement of musicians and instruments, dance movements and costume.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산