Ryu Sang-un Portrait

This is a portrait of Ryu Sang-un (1636–1707), a civil official of the mid-Joseon period. His clan seat was Munhwa, and his pen name was Yakjae. Two portraits of Ryu Sang-un survive today. One hung in a saengsadang, a "living shrine" built in Pyeongyang to honour the achievements of Provincial Governor Ryu Sang-un while he was still alive; the other is a copy made from it. It is said that, while serving as Provincial Governor of Pyeongan, Ryu Sang-un carried out such benevolent government for the people that they built the saengsadang and had his portrait painted and enshrined there. Of the two surviving portraits, the one thought to have been enshrined in the Pyeongyang saengsadang bears at the top the inscription "Portrait of Lord Ryu Sang-un, Provincial Governor and Inspector-General." The silk was made by joining three panels to form the painting surface, and the silk's surface has flaked away from the centre of the lower part of the robe to the right sleeve. The gauze cap, belt, face and overall form of the dress can still be made out, but the level of detail is generally somewhat rough; it is thought to be the work of a local painter rather than a professional court painter, and it cannot be said with certainty that this painting is the original from the late seventeenth century. The remaining portrait is thought to be a copy made in around the eighteenth century, based on the portrait enshrined in the saengsadang. This copy shows the sitter facing forward, wearing a round-collared robe with both hands clasped together inside the sleeves, seated in a chair covered with tiger skin. It bears a rank badge with paired clouds and wild geese, indicating a second-rank civil official. The features of the face are defined with linear brushwork. The two portraits, both showing the sitter seated in a chair, are similar in their basic form. The copy shows serious damage, including flaking and creasing of the pigment.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산