석지 채용신 학자 초상|石芝 蔡龍臣 學者肖像|Portrait of a scholar

Chae Yongsin (artist name: Seokji)

dated by inscription to 1924 · Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk · Asian Art

Although the sitter in this portrait is not identified, his black-trimmed white robe and double-tiered hat with three peaks identify him as a scholar in informal garb. Quite unusual, he sits kneeling, rather than cross-legged like the gentleman in the adjacent portrait. Chae’s works incorporate the conventions of both traditional ancestral portraiture and modern photography, such as a heightened realism and a studio-set background that included a painted folding screen. Indeed, he often painted from photos, especially as age limited his mobility; this portrait may very well have had a photographic, rather than live, model.

Artist

Chae Yongsin (artist name: Seokji)

Date

dated by inscription to 1924

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk

Culture

Korea

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2012