Ryu Sun-jeong Portrait

Ryu Sun-jeong (1459-1512) was of the Jinju Ryu clan, with the courtesy name Jiong; he was the son of the magistrate Yang and a disciple of Kim Jong-jik. In 1487, having passed the jinsa examination, he placed first in the special royal state examination and was appointed to the post of jeonjeok. In 1491, the 22nd year of King Seongjong, he served under Heo Jong, supreme commander of the northern expedition, in a campaign against the Jurchen, and returned having distinguished himself with many military achievements. He was later transferred to serve as an army inspector of Pyeongan-do, and in the early reign of Yeonsangun he successively held the posts of heonnap, bueunggyo, jipui and saseong, then served as magistrate of Uiju before rising to army commander of Pyeongan-do. He subsequently served as vice-minister of the Board of Punishments and of the Board of Works, and after serving as inspector-general of Pyeongan-do and vice-minister of the Board of Personnel, he was promoted to minister of the Board of Personnel. In 1506, the first year of King Jungjong, he distinguished himself in the restoration that placed King Jungjong on the throne and was named a first-class Meritorious Subject for Pacifying the State, being enfeoffed as Prince of Cheongju. That same year he was promoted to State Councillor of the Right; the following year he concurrently held the post of Minister of War, and for his part in handling the treason case of Yi Gwa he was named a first-class Meritorious Subject for Quelling Disorder. In 1509, the fourth year of King Jungjong, he became State Councillor of the Left, and when the Sampo Uprising broke out the following year, he commanded the military as supreme field commander and then personally led troops into the field as supreme commander of Gyeongsang-do, suppressing the uprising. In 1512 he became Chief State Councillor and died while still in office. His posthumous title was Muan, later changed to Munjeong. The portrait of Ryu Sun-jeong is one of only a few surviving portraits from the early sixteenth century; it represents the most typical form of mid-Joseon meritorious-subject portraiture and, as the earliest known example to show a patterned mat on the floor, it is of great value in the history of painting, and is accordingly designated a Seoul Tangible Cultural Heritage.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산