King Yeongjo’s Portrait: A Son Guarding His Mother’s Shrine
Creatrip Team
3 months ago
This article examines a 1900 copy of King Yeongjo’s royal portrait (어진) made by leading painters to replace originals lost in an 1890s-1900s palace fire. The copy was based on an earlier portrait from 1744 showing Yeongjo at age 51, painted for the shrine of his birth mother, Lady Sukbin Choi. Unlike typical frontal royal likenesses, the portrait shows Yeongjo looking downward—expressing filial devotion as the son who watches over his mother’s ancestral shrine at Yuksanggung (now Chilgung). The essay highlights technical details: the portrait’s warm complexion, rich red dragon robe (용포) with delicate cloisonné-like ornamentation and a five-clawed circular dragon emblem (금사오조룡원보), and the round dragon badge reflecting the traditional cosmology (heaven round, earth square). The 1900 title inscription was written by Emperor Gojong, who had become emperor in the era of the Korean Empire (광무). The piece underscores both the continuity of Joseon portraiture skill and the symbolic contrast between Yeongjo’s majestic regalia and the diminished imperial trappings seen in contemporary Gojong portraits.
