Im Yeon Portrait

Im Yeon (1567–1619) belonged to the Pungcheon Im clan. His courtesy name was Jajeong and his pen name was Danghoo. In 1610, following his role in the prosecution of Prince Imhae, King Gwanghaegun's elder brother, he was recognised for his merit and awarded the title of Meritorious Subject of Iksa (Iksa Gongsin). This portrait is an imobon, an eighteenth-century copy, of the Iksa Gongsin portrait awarded to Im Yeon. The samo, his black official hat, is low and flat. The facial features are simply outlined and then coloured plainly, without much artifice. The nose, however, is drawn as if seen from the side; this is not a lack of skill but reflects the limitations of the painting techniques of the period — rendering the nose's thickness required Western painting methods, which had not yet been introduced, so earlier portraits showed the nose in profile to indicate the shape of the nose ridge. The official robe he wears, a dallyeong (round-collared robe), is black and patterned with clouds, its collar rising slightly along the neckline. Portraits usually show a side slit only on the right, but the Im Yeon Portrait is unusual in showing slits on both sides. On the chest is attached a rank badge depicting a wild goose set among clouds and peony patterns. This style of portrait resembles merit-subject portraits produced in the early seventeenth century. The face is shown at a slight angle, while the body, chair and footstool face forward; the ornate mat visible on the floor and the slit in the robe are features typical of portraits from the first half of the eighteenth century. The Im Yeon Portrait was copied in the eighteenth century using a seventeenth-century merit-subject portrait as its model, and so it combines characteristics of both seventeenth- and eighteenth-century portraiture.

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Where it is

Region

Yongin, Gyeonggi

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료