The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 28, 2024

Portrait of an Official

Portrait of an Official

early 1800s
Painting only: 147.7 x 76.4 cm (58 1/8 x 30 1/16 in.); Overall: 218.9 x 89.6 cm (86 3/16 x 35 1/4 in.); Overall with knobs and cord: 221.9 x 96.9 cm (87 3/8 x 38 1/8 in.)
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

A piece of leopard skin covering the chair is a typical gift from the royal court to court officials.

Description

The quest of capturing one’s spirit through imagery held a special place in the tradition of portrait making in East Asia. A portrait’s resemblance to the subject was considered to be a way to transmit the sitter’s spirit to the viewer. A three-quarter view, much preferred in Joseon-period portraits like this one, allows the viewer to examine the sitter’s personality or spirit without an exchange of glances.

Dressed in a pale pink court uniform, the gentleman sits on a chair draped with leopard skin, a symbol of royal favor. Due to the missing inscription, which was likely trimmed off, we cannot identify him. Yet, we know a few things: His uniform informs us that he worked in the royal court sometime during the 1700s or later because the color of office uniforms changed from dark green to pale pink in the early 1700s. Considered to be an important historical family relic, this type of full-length portrait was often placed above the spirit house and venerated during ancestral worship rituals.
  • ?-1998
    (The Chinese Porcelain Company, New York, NY, sold to the Honorable Joseph P. Carroll and Roberta Carroll, MD)
    1998-1999
    The Honorable Joseph P. Carroll and Roberta Carroll, MD, New York, NY
    1999
    (Joseph P. Carroll, Ltd., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1999-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Cho, Sun-mie. Portrait Paintings in Korea [한국초상화 연구]. Seoul: Youlhwadang, 1983.
    Yi, Tae-ho. Realism in Late-Joseon Period Painting [조선 후기 회화 의 사실 정신. Seoul: Hakkojae, 1996.
    Cleveland Museum of Art, “Major Contemporary German Painting Acquired by CMA,” June 9, 1999, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
    Portraits of the Joseon Period [조선 시대 초상화]. Seoul: National Museum of Korea, 2007.
    Cho, Sun-mie. Great Korean Portraits. Seoul: Dolbegae Publishers, 2010.
    Treasures from Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty, 1392-1910. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2014.
    Kim, Yeong-ju. "Study on Joseon-Period Korean Portraits in Formatted in Hanging Scroll [조선시대 초상화 족자의 형식에 대한 연구]." Misul sahak no. 28 (2014): 61-95. www.dbpia.co.kr
    The Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation. "Support for Conservation and Use of the Korean Paintings in the Cleveland Museum of Art." In The Korean Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Ch'a, Mi-rae, Kwi-suk An, Cleveland Museum of Art, 국외소재문화재재단, and An Min-hŭi, ed., 320-323. First edition, English ed. Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Series, 16. Seoul, Republic of Korea: Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, 2021. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 320-323, fig. 6
    Jung-Jae Conservation Center. "The Conservation Report on Two Korean Paintings in the Cleveland Museum of Art: Portrait of a Scholar Official." In The Korean Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Ch'a, Mi-rae, Kwi-suk An, Cleveland Museum of Art, 국외소재문화재재단, and An Min-hŭi, ed., 334-345. First edition, English ed. Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Series, 16. Seoul, Republic of Korea: Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, 2021. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 334-345
  • National Palace Museum, Seoul, South Korea (September 11-October 13, 2019).
    Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 238). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (June 12, 2013-January 28, 2014).
  • {{cite web|title=Portrait of an Official|url=false|author=|year=early 1800s|access-date=28 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1999.45