Presumed Yi Sun-sin Portrait

This work is traditionally said to be a portrait of Yi Sun-sin. At the upper right of the painting is an inscription in haeseo script, a formal standard script, reading '忠武公李舜臣像' ('Portrait of Yi Sun-sin, Lord Chungmu'). There is some damage to the ground of the painting and the colouring has partly flaked away, but its condition is generally good. On the basis of this inscription the painting is judged to be a portrait of Yi Sun-sin, and considering the condition of the ground fabric, the composition and manner of depicting the figure, the brushwork and the state of the colouring, it is presumed to have been produced in the late to final period of Joseon. This is the oldest portrait of Yi Sun-sin to have survived. It is neither a gongsindosang, a portrait of a meritorious subject, nor a folk painting, but a portrait rendered in extremely fine detail on silk, a ground that is difficult to paint in such detail, so that the work itself is of a very high standard. Because portraits of military officials are in themselves extremely rare and valuable, it is also excellent material for the study of military portraiture of the Joseon period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Seo-gu, Busan

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료