Portrait of Kim Yu

Portrait of Kim Yu (金楺 肖像) is a Joseon dynasty portrait held at the Gyeonggi Museum in Giheung-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It was first designated on September 12, 1984, as Tangible Cultural Property No. 117 of Gyeonggi Province, titled "Portrait of Master Geomje Kim Yu," and was upgraded and designated on December 29, 2006, as Treasure No. 1481, titled "Portrait of Kim Yu."¹

Overview

This is a portrait of Kim Yu (金楺, 1653–1719), a civil official of the mid-to-late Joseon period, in the half-right-facing, full-length seated-on-chair format in danlyeong (round-collared robe), which was most popular in the early 18th century. The inscription on the upper right side, "儉齋金先生畵像 六十四歲時寫" (Portrait of Master Geomje Kim, painted when he was sixty-four years old), indicates that it depicts him at age 64, in the 42nd year of King Sukjong (1716). Features typical of early 18th-century portraits include the fact that the decorative fur draped over the chair is tiger skin with long stripes rather than circular leopard spots; that the tiger's face is slightly revealed at the center above the footrest while both feet are prominently displayed on the left and right sides of the footrest for emphasis; and that the chair's armrests are sharply curved and show no sense of three-dimensionality.¹

Portraits of the danlyeong full-length seated-on-chair type from the 1710s are not very numerous. In addition, the painterly skill and artistic level are excellent, and its state of preservation is relatively good. Moreover, few examples so early display as directly and successfully the most typical style of Later Joseon portraiture, which became most widely popular after the 18th century, as this portrait of Kim Yu does.¹

References

• Portrait of Kim Yu - Cultural Heritage Administration Heritage Portal