Portrait of Choeseokjeong

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.1936

Category

Painting

Era

조선후기(18세기 초)

Designated year

2017

Location

청주시, 충청북도— 충청북도 청주시 상당구 명암로 143 (명암동, 국립청주박물관)

Coordinates

36.649700, 127.507300Museum-based location

Choe Seok-jeong (1646-1715) was a Neo-Confucian scholar-official of late Joseon period who, together with Yun Jeung and Nam Gu-man, led the political faction known as the Young Doctrine (Soron), and also served as the Chief Minister (Yeonguijeong) of the government on as many as eight different occasions, playing a significant role in Joseon politics and scholarship, and making distinguished achievements as a mathematician. In this portrait, Choe Seok-jeong is depicted wearing a green, round-collared official robe and a black satin hat, sitting in a chair covered with leopard fur, with his hands held together inside the sleeves of his robe. His feet, encased in black leather shoes, rest upon a footstool which is, in turn, placed upon a woven rush mat with a floral design. The chest of his robe bears a large square rank badge (hyungbae) embroidered with twin cranes, while the exclusive rhinoceros horn belt worn around his waist symbolizes his status as an official of the Major First Rank (Jeongilpum). The artist used outlining and shading techniques originating from Western art to create a more three-dimensional effect in his depiction of the sitter’s face. The painting is regarded as a rare and important example of the official portraits of the early eighteenth century, which tended to be more natural in terms of their execution when compared with portraits of meritorious subjects from the seventeenth century, whose subjects tended to be expressed with greater volume and rigidness of posture.

Location