Portrait of Hwanghyeon

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.1494

Category

Painting

Era

1911년

Designated year

2006

Location

광산구, 광주광역시— 광주광역시 광산구

Coordinates

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

This Portrait of Hwang Hyeon (1855-1910), a scholar and patriot toward the end of the Korean Empire, was painted by Chae Yong-sin (1850-1941), a first-rate portrait painter at the time. The photograph of Hwang was taken a year before he committed suicide in protest against Japan's annexation of Korea. Chae painted the portrait in a realistic way, using the photograph as his inspiration, in May 1911, one year after Hwang's death. Hwang is portrayed wearing a Confucian scholar's overcoat and a tiered black horsehair hat, sitting on a decorative mat, and holding a book and a fan in his hands. His body is facing almost straight ahead, but for a slight inclination to the left. The face and the pose were obviously borrowed from Hwang's photograph (taken at Cheonyeondang studio in Seoul), but in the photo the subject is wearing an everyday overcoat and a round horsehair hat, and is seated on a chair by a small table. In terms of style, the portrait clearly represents new features of portrait painting introduced toward the end of the Korean Empire, and is an artistic masterpiece. ㅇ Dimensions (L x W): 120.7x72.8cm"