Friday, March 29, 2024
ARTKOREAN HISTORY

Searching for original portraits of the Joseon Kings

A question about where we can find portraits of King Sukjong inspired me to look for portraits of the Joseon kings.

What I discovered was that a lot of Joseon royal portraits are lost due to damage during wars and natural disasters. In fact, there are only portraits of four of the Joseon kings that remain. 

I also found out that traditionally, the portraits were only of the king. So we can’t see paintings of the king with the queen and certainly not with any concubines.

So I didn’t find anything on King Sukjong himself. But I did find a portrait of Suk-bin’s son, King Yeongjo, (see below) along with three other kings.

In this post

In this post I’ll take a quick look at the process of portrait painting in the Joseon court, the reasons for portrait painting, and which royal portraits are still around.

related posts:

Ultimate guide to the Joseon Kings

Chart of Joseon kings and related historical dramas

Since I couldn’t find an original portrait of King Sukjong, here’s a more contemporary image of actor Ji Jin-hee as Sukjong drinking coffee! Source: MBC Dong Yi blog

Ji Jin-hee as King Sukjong in historical drama Dong Yi (MBC 2010)

Painting Portraits of the Joseon kings

Court Painters

During the Joseon period, a royal painter was a prestigious job. And the artists worked in the Royal Department of Painting, dohwaseo.

They were called hwawon. And before the days of photography, their job was to record events and ceremonies throughout the King’s reign.

They also painted important symbol work such as the various folding and panel screens of the Five Peaks (obong-byeong). We can often see these behind the king in Korean dramas.

Of course, one of the jobs for the best artists was to paint the portrait of the king, crown prince, and high ranking officials.

Rewards for Royal Artists

In the Royal Court, here was a ranking system for men and women. (See The court ladies ranking system.)

And the ranks went from one to nine – one was the highest.

Court painters tended to come from chungmin, the middle class. And according to the Joseon Law Code (Gyeongguk daejeon), painters could only move up to junior rank 6 (jong 6 pum). But in reality exceptional painters reached higher ranks.

Also, after completing work successfully for an event, they received awards such as cotton, rice, promotions, and official posts

related posts:

Drama review: Painter of the Wind

What can we learn about Joseon society through the paintings of Shin Yun-bok

Book review: Great Korean Portraits

Portraits of the Joseon kings

Which royal portraits remain?

Unfortunately, nearly all the royal portraits were destroyed during invasions, wars, and natural disasters such as fires.

Records show that King Sukjong had his portrait painted in 1713 (apparently he kept his sketches but where are they?). Renowned painter Gim Jin-gyu (1658-1716) was one of the painters appointed to paint him.

In fact, only portraits of four kings survive. They include the first and last of the Joseon dynasty kings, Taejo (1392-1398), Yeongjo (1724-76), Cheoljong (1849-63), and the last king Gojong (1863-1907).

Another reason why there are so few portraits remaining is that there could only be one portrait of the king in existence at a time. So if one got damaged, a copy had to be made and the original destroyed.

Not only this, but any sketches of the King drawn beforehand had to be destroyed too.

1. Portraits of the Joseon kings:

King Taejo (1392 – 1398)

portraits of the Joseon kings: King Taejo

King Taejo (1392 – 1398) Source: Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea

King Taejo was the founder of the Joseon dynasty so there were more portraits made of him than other kings.

Still, there is only one portrait left and that is a copy of the original  painted in 1372 ( 9th year of King Gojong) and is now in Gyeonggijeon Hall in Jeonju.

It is a full-length painting with the King seated and looking straight ahead giving him an authoritative look. (In later portraits the kings are usually facing slightly to the side). King Taejo is wearing Ikseongwan, the King’s crown, and Gollyongpo, the King’s robes.

There are influences from the Goryeo period in the portrait such as the dragon pattern on the chair and the use of blue robes popular at that time. The patterned carpet feature can be found in the portraits of Kings as late as King Sukjong.

related posts:

Why do some kings have the title JO and others JONG?

The first English translation of the Annals of King Taejo

Ultimate guide to the Joseon Kings

2. Portraits of the Joseon kings:

King Yeongjo (r.1724 -1776)

Prince Yeoning later King Yeongjo (1694-1776) source: Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea

King Yeongjo (r.1724 -1776) (son of King Sukjong and Suk-bin) was the 21st King and the longest reigning King of the Joseon Dynasty. 

He ordered artists to paint his portrait 7 times during his reign of 52 years and there were supposedly a total of 12 portraits of him. But only two remain, one painting depicts him at 21 years old and the other at 51. This earlier work was partly burnt during the Korean War (1950-1953). 

The prince is wearing a green round-necked robe with a chest emblem featuring a mythical white unicorn and sash, his hands are folded under long sleeves.

He is also wearing a black silk hat and black deerskin boots. The portrait was painted by Jin Jae-hae (?-before 1735) in 1714. Jin Jae-hae was a renowned court artist and the chief portrait painter for King Sukjong in 1713, the 39th year of his reign.

King Yeongjo (1694-1776) source: Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea

The later painting of King Yeongjo was also burnt and so a copy had to be made in the 1900s.

This is the copy painted by Jang Gyeongju and Kim Duryang, the most skillful artists of the time. It is a half-length portrait and the king is looking to the right.

He is also wearing the Ikseongwan, crown, and red Gollyongpo, King’s robes, with a dragon pattern, and we can see the Gakdae, ornamental band on the chest, is depicted fashionably higher than in the painting of King Taejo.

Why were portraits painted?

This seems like an obvious question but the portraits were not simply just portraits, they had great symbolic meaning. Royal portraits were painted for worship of royal ancestors and to symbolize the eternal prosperity of the dynasty. 

A portrait could enhance the power of the king and the mandate of heaven. King Yeongjo had a complex about his right to the throne as he was the son of a concubine. Perhaps that is why he had so commissioned so many paintings.

Portraits were also painted to be hung on alters, portrait shrines or halls for ancestral rites.

3. Portraits of the Joseon kings:

King Cheoljong (1831- 1863)

 King Cheoljong (1831- 1863) source: Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea

This portrait of King Cheoljong was painted in 1861 and is now in the National Palace Museum of Korea. 

It took a month for prominent artists at the time to paint two portraits of the king. One in a silk gauze robe and one in military attire, but only the latter survives.

But King Cheoljong was a puppet king of the Andong clan and didn’t have much power himself.

Ultimate guide to the Joseon Kings

The Royal Protocol of the Joseon Dynasty

There was a lot of protocol to go through preparing for a royal portrait (eojin). The uigwe의궤 儀軌 (The Royal Protocol of the Joseon Dynasty) recored all the information.

There were uigwe on all different aspects of court life and two on royal portrait painting- Royal Portrait Production Uigwe (eoyong dosa dogam uigwe) for original royal portraits, and Royal Portrait Reproduction Uigwe (yeongjeong mosa dogam uigwe) for making copies of damaged portraits.

Painters first had to be chosen and this process could be done through tests.

According to records in the uigwe, candidates were put in different rooms so they couldn’t cheat and then they had to copy a portrait of an official.

A committee would study the works. 5 painters took part in one royal portrait painting and each was in charge of a different area: the face, body parts, colours.

This process is fictionalised in the drama painter of the Wind

Painter of the Wind

The drama Painter of the Wind is the fictional story of two of the greatest artists of the Joseon period: Sin Yun-bok and Kim Hong-do. Kim Hong do worked in the dohwaseo. He painted portraits of King Jeongjo. And painting the king’s portrait is included in the plot of the drama too.

It’s possible that Shin Yun-bok couldn’t be a court painter as his father worked in the dohwaseo and the laws at the time didn’t allow fathers and sons to work at the same place.

No flattery allowed

The work on the royal portrait was checked constantly during the process by the king and officials. (no pressure).  A court physician even checked for physical inaccuracies in the work.

The Kings posed for their portraits (usually in the morning when the light was better) but there was no flattery allowed in the work.

The painters were meant to capture the inner spirit of the king whilst also staying true to the physical appearance. They had to paint what they saw – warts and all. Skin problems, double chins, big noses, receding hairlines all had to stay as they were.

So it seems there was no Joseon equivalent of air-brushing! However, the paintings were realistic, not photorealistic and followed the stylistic fashions of the day.

4. Portraits of the Joseon kings:

King Gojong (1852-1919)

Portraits of the Joseon kings: King Gojong (1852-1919) source: New World Encyclopedia

King Gojong was the 26th King of Joseon and first emperor. The portrait was painted by Yi Hancheol and Yu Sook.

As well as royal portraits, the King ordered paintings to be done of merit subjects (men who did good work for their country), and also scholars who reached the age of 60 and 70 as a mark of appreciation for their service.

In the early part of the Joseon period, wives of merit subjects were likely to have their portraits painted too, but gradually the number of portraits taken of women began to fall as the male-centred values of a patriarchal Confucian society became stronger. 

Strict Confucian rules of gender segregation also meant that men and women shouldn’t sit together, so strictly speaking, a female painter would have to paint a female – and there were very few female painters.

Perhaps these reasons are why I couldn’t find any pictures of Jang Hee-bin or Queen In heon!

And there is very little information about Suk-bin (Dong Yi) in history anyway, so it’s not surprising that I couldn’t find any pictures of her either.

There are paintings of gisaeng or every day women still around, but in the upper classes I could only find the occasional yangban lady but no portraits of queens or court ladies. I wrote more about this in the Overview of the book: Great Korean Portraits.

related posts:

drama review: Mr Sunshine

The Five Royal Palaces of Seoul

The information in this post I found in the following journal articles, book, and websites:

Han Young Woo, A Review of Korean History vol. 2 Joseon Era, published by Kyongsaewon

Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea

Yi Sŏng-mi, Asian Art Journal, volume 58 2008; Euigwe and the Documentation of Joseon Court Ritual Life

Cho Sunmie, Korea Journal Summer 2005, Joseon Dynasty Portraits of Meritorious Subjects

Lee Tao Ho, Korea Journal Summer 2005, Portrait Painting in the Joseon Dynasty

Yu Hong-June, Yeungnam University, Portraits of the Choson Dynasty

8 thoughts on “Searching for original portraits of the Joseon Kings

  • Interesting information! Thanks.

    POTW may be about Shin Yun-bok but it’s not the story is not typical but a fascinating premise that the painter could be a woman instead. There are historical inaccuracies and so on but then, it’s a drama based on a fictional story. A very good dramatisation I might add, considering who’s in the lead role (she pulled it off so convincingly, I doubt any of her peers can replicate it)

    Miindo is a movie, also on Shin Yun-bok, of the same mold but took a different direction.

    Of the two, I’d rather prefer POTW.

    Reply
  • After watching Dong Yi ..everyone should watch “Yi San”. It picks up w/ her son ruling and then the his grandson. They didnt dispict her son as a very good or wise man in character either

    Reply
  • Btw ..these portraits are BEAUTIFUL! I think the Koreans were the most fashionable in the world back then & they coordinated their colors beautifully!Also, the only culture of ppl who made sure clothes fit comfortably ..and the thing about it, they werent even trying to make a fashion statement like Europe and America lol ..Actually I didnt realize all this myself until I read it in a magazine ..Its so true!

    Reply
  • nice to see these, you’re such an effort..Thanks, i currently watching jang ok jung live in love, have u buy any chance an original portrait of jang ok jun/hee bin…just wonderin how she looks like…anyway thanks for all of these…more power

    Reply

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