It was not common to create portraits of individuals until the 18th century in Korean art tradition. However, more than 300 portraits that depict meritorious retainers were believed to have been executed by court painters during the 17th century only....
It was not common to create portraits of individuals until the 18th century in Korean art tradition. However, more than 300 portraits that depict meritorious retainers were believed to have been executed by court painters during the 17th century only. Therefore, the impact of 17th-century meritorious retainer's portraits is certainly undeniable in the formation of the iconography and stylistic features of early 18th-century portraits.
Although portraying meritorious retainers followed the tradition of Chinese Tang court, Goryeo-period portraits made the most immediate contribution to Joseon-period portraits. Joseon-period meritorious retainers can be categorized into three levels: Jeong meritorious retainers, Baehyang meritorious retainers, and Wonjong meritorious retainers. Among these three levels of meritorious retainers, only Joeng Meritorious Retainers were qualified to be recorded in portraits. Once, an official was designated as a meritorious retainer by the royal court, he was not only given a title "Gun," the same as that of a royal prince, but also great social, financial and civil privilege, which could be inherited to his own descendents. Being recorded in a portrait was one of the most prestigious awards awarded to a meritorious retainer.
The terms to designate "Portraits of Meritorious Retainers" varied since the early Joseon period. The term "Hwasang (Portraying Likeness)," began to be employed from the early 16th century to the 17th century. For instance, The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, and The Pictorial Record of Hoseong, Seonmoo, Cheongnan Meritorious Retainers, and The Pictorial Record of Bunmoo Meritorious Retainers all employed the term "Hwasang."
Upon its completion, displaying a meritorious retainer's portrait was considered to be essential. Unlike Goryeo period, a portrait of a meritorious retainer was displayed in a special pavilion installed in royal palaces. An expression, "Portraying an Image and Constructing a pavilion," had been used until the 16th century. However, by the reign of King Seonjo (1552-1608), the latter part of this expression disappeared. It implies that pavilions for portraits of meritorious retainers were no longer installed by the mid-Joseon period.
The Pictorial Record of Hoseong, Seonmoo, Cheongnan Meritorious Retainers created in the thirty seventh-thirty eighth year of King Seonjo's reign(1604-1605), offers the most insightful information about 17th-century portraits of meritorious retainers such as creating process, pigments, and pictorial iconography. This record testifies that portraits were executed only for living meritorious retainers. The expense for creating those portraits were partially funded by those who received the title of meritorious retainer. Moreover, materials including pigments did not followed the previous tradition due to financial difficulties at that time.
The Pictorial Record of Jeongsa, Jinmoo Meritorious Retainers was made during the first years of King Injo (1623-1625). Since these two historical events took place separately, the size of portraits for these two different groups of meritorious retainers is slightly different. However, the employed pigments remained the same.
The Pictorial Record of Bunmoo Meritorious Retainers created in the fourth year of King Yeongjo's reign (1728), is an excellent example to illustrate how the 17th-century portraits of meritorious retainers continued to be transmitted and encounted with new pictorial languages. Jin Jae-hea (1691-1769), a court painter, seems to have played an essential role in completing the portraits of Bunmoo meritorious retainers. This record also reveals that portraits of meritorious retainers created by specially appointed court painters were sent to their sitters after its completion.
Portraits of meritorious retainers in the Joseon Period can be divided into three stages on a base of its periodical development: early, mid, and late periods. The mid period spans from the late 16th century to the end of 17th century, which features its own characteristic vocabularies. The most notable feature can be seen in the background. The carpet that decorates the floor raises up to the level of the knees of the sitter, which almost reminds of the wall paper. The hight of Samo, a type of official hat is very low, Dapho and Cheolrik shown through Danryeong, was depicted in great details. Hyungbae, a embroidered patch to the official robe, was separately attached to Danryeong. In depicting the face, shading effect was not employed, but rather was drawn with lines in slightly darker color than that of skin. Portrait of Yi Joong-ro, and Portrait of Bak Yu-myeong, featured the earliest stage among the mid-period portraits of meritorious retainers.
After taken away the title from those who became meritorious retainers during the reign of King Guanghea (1608-1623), their portraits and records were all supposed to be destroyed. However, some of the portraits survived by descendents who kept them in secrete. For this very reason, these survived portraits allowed us to view their pictorial prototype because they were not freely copied by later generation. Among this type of portraits, are Portrait of Yu Suk, and Portrait of Yun Hyu. These two works show that the proportion of the sitter and the height of his shoulder look more natural. The left armrest of the chair is bent to the right and connected to the back of the chair. The triangularly folded sleeves of Danryeong is turned over the back of the armrest. The carpet that covers the floor is created one more layer, but its hight became lowered. The hight of the carpet certainly changed over the thread of time.
Portrait of Yi Shi-bang and Portrait of Kim Wan feature the late mid-period portrait of meritorious retainers. While the upper and lower body part proportion to the whole picture surface get lower, the face is depicted rather bigger. Like Portrait of Yu Suk, and Portrait of Yun Hyu created during the reign of King Guanghae, the sleeves of Dapho, Chealik, and Danryeong are evenly arranged in order. In addition, the height of the carpet gets even lower.
Portraits of Bunmoo Meritorious Retainers explicitly illustrate the mid-Joseon period portraits of meritorious retainers continued to be influential on 18th-century ones. Facial patterns, shading effects, and valiant brushstroke delineating the outline of the robe, are not yet noticeable. While the wall-paper like carpet completely disappeared, the anatomical accuracy and the perspective representation became more convincingly executed.
Since descendents perceived "portraits of ancestors" as ancestor themselves, they did not differentiate original works from their later copies, either. In fact, they valued more newly executed portraits of ancestors, rather than their original ones that had been weathered and deteriorated over the course of the time. Such an attitude make it difficult for art historians to examine the format and pictorial styles of original works, but it certainly characterizes one of the major features of Korean portrait tradition.