Portrait of Cho Kwan-bin

This is a portrait of Cho Kwan-bin in a rose pink robe worn by officials while engaged in official duties. The caption “東湖趙公五十五歲眞” (동호조공오십오세진) written at the top hints that this portrait was painted in 1745 when he was 55. Cho’s pen name was Hoeheon but Dongho, his other nickname, seems to have been used often in his old age.

Every strand of his beard was delicately depicted and the wrinkles in the corners of his eyes were realistically portrayed along with his red lips on his pinkish apricot face. Outlines and features were depicted in darker lines while a slight cubic effect was aroused by lending some shade to his deeply seamed eye rims and nasolabial folds. Cho’s expressionless face with downcast eyes is in contrast with the bright ambiance engendered by the gorgeous official’s outfit and the silk belt with gold ornaments.

These types of half-length portraits in which the person in the work is portrayed in an everyday robe are housed in the National Museum of Korea and Tenri University in Japan, among which this portrait is the most outstanding.