Sin Hu-jae Portrait

This is a portrait of Sin Hu-jae (1636–1699), a civil official of the late Joseon period. Sin Hu-jae passed the munkwa civil service examination in the first year of King Hyeonjong's reign (1660) and served as governor of Gangwon-do, among other posts. After being imprisoned in connection with the Gapsul Purge of 1694, he devoted himself entirely to scholarship. The portrait is a full-length image of him seated in a chair, dressed formally in official robes and holding a hol (a tablet worn at the waist by court officials) upright in both hands. The style of the official robes appears to date from the reign of King Sukjong, but the painting technique differs from that typical of the period. For instance, the hands are not clasped together inside the sleeves but hold the hol out visibly; the fingernails are conspicuously drawn; no belt is depicted over the robes; and the area where the chair and footstool overlap is awkwardly rendered. Given this distinctive style, the portrait is presumed to have been brought back when Sin Hu-jae travelled to Qing China as a royal envoy of thanks (saeunsa). It also serves as valuable material for the study of portrait painting.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Eumseong, Chungbuk

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산