숙종 대 초상화 제작과 ‘닮음’의 구현

Abstract

A portrait can be a work of art that represents a unique individual, but achieving a likeness is a most important requisite of a good portrait. The person who looks at a portrait recognizes a likeness in the painting when he feels that the artist has not only depicted faithfully his physical features, but also has represented his inner aspects including his character or personality. During the Joseon dynasty, the literati made likeness the most important element whenever they mentioned portraits. This can be confirmed in the fact that they valued the notion of jeonsinsajo which means “conveying the spirit and copying the outer form” repeatedly. The time when the genre of portrait painting began to become popular coincides roughly with King Sukjong’s reign (1674-1719). During that time period, portraiture gained unprecedented attention, as renowned scholars and high-ranking officials, including Sukjong himself, paid attention to the various functions and uses of portrait paintings. Then they asked artists, above all else, to paint their portraits absolutely lifelike. The artists also responded to their growing interest in portraits while actively learning and experimenting with various techniques of portrait painting. Most representative for that time were painters such as Jo Segeol (ca. 1635-after 1704) and Kim Jinyeo (1675-1760) from Pyeongyang as well as Jin Jaehae (?-before 1735) from the Royal Bureau of Painting (Dohwaseo). While inheriting the Korean portrait tradition, they adopted new styles from Chinese portraits or Western paintings. In doing so, they created their own distinct style. This contrasts with previous times, when portraits were produced mainly by painters from the Royal Bureau of Painting, painters used the similar painting styles. And each time period favored another standardized portrait style. Eventually, the literati and painters became aware of the fact that achieving likeness in painting portraits was no longer an impossible undertaking. One of the main explanations why portraiture was largely unpopular before Sukjong’s rule is the stereotypical opinion about portraits which was prevalent among the literati. At the time, there were no outstanding portraitists and accordingly it was difficult for a scholar to get his own portrait in which likeness was realized. When Sukjong commissioned court painters to produce copies of the Royal Portrait of Taejo (Taejo eojin), the ministers justified their opposition to the project by putting forward this reasoning each time. Joseon aristocrats thought that when a person was portrayed in all likeness, then the portrait could be regarded as that person and it could be used as a substitute for the actual person. After the reign of King Sukjong, the production of portrait paintings grew rapidly, and the number of sau shrines for hanging the portraits, such as saengsa, yeongdang, and seowon, increased in the entire country. After all, numerous noblemen visited those shrines and respectfully bowed down before the enshrined portraits. This new phenomenon was closely related to the fact that the issue of achieving likeness in painting portraits had been resolved.