Portrait of Bakmunsu

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.1189-2

Category

Painting

Era

18세기 중반

Designated year

2006

Location

동구, 부산광역시— 부산광역시 동구

Coordinates

No precise coordinates are available, so this item is not shown as a map marker. To be added later.

This portrait depicts Bak Mun-su (1691-1756), who was a representative amhaengeosa (secret royal inspector) during the Joseon Dynasty. In 1728 when he was 38 years old, Bak Mun-su was honored as a meritorious subject. At that time, his full-body and half-body portraits, awarded to him as a meritorious subject, were painted and handed down to his descendants. In 1994, the two portraits were designated as Treasure No. 1189. Unlike a portrait of him wearing a golden waistband and looking younger, which was made in 1728, this half-body portrait depicts Bak Mun-su wearing a high-ranking official waistband and looking older. Therefore, this portrait was probably painted in a different situation in later years compared to the one painted in 1728. In that sense, it is worth mentioning a record in Guirokjip written by Jo Hyeon-myeong (1690-1752) and which states that the half-body portraits of 14 meritorious subjects were painted in 1751 and made into a book and stored in the Gigonggak Government Office, and that the portraits of himself, Bak Mun-su, Kim Dong-man, and Yi Bo-hyeok were painted new whereas the remaining 10 subjects turned in their old copies kept personally. That is because Bak Mun-su was 61 years old in 1751 and was a high-ranking official, which coincides with his half-body portrait. Furthermore, a half-body portrait of the old-looking Kim Dong-man, which was drawn in 1751 at the same period as that of Bak Mun-su, was designated as Treasure No. 715. It measures 42.5 x 29 cm, which is almost the same size (40.2 x 28. 2 cm) as the half-body portrait of the old-looking Bak Mun-su collected by Sin Seong-su. These portraits also have similarity in terms of painting techniques and aesthetics. Such facts notwithstanding, this portrait has significance in the history of portrait painting and meritorious subjects in the Joseon Dynasty. - Size (Length x Width): 121.4 x 49.7 cm (Whole), 40.2 x 28.2cm (Painting), 41.2 x 28.2cm (Postscript)