Study on Hyewon Sin Yun-bok’s Narrative Figure Paintings with Focus on the Gift of the 1811 Sinmi Tongsinsa

Whereas Hyewon(蕙園) Shin Yun­Bok(申潤福, 1758?-1817 or later) is most well known for genre paintings, his other achievements include Chinese-style paintings of figures from classic literatures with exceptional quality, which were produced as gifts for diplomatic delegations. These are the four paintings of figures from classic literatures that were produced upon request by Pi Jong-Jung(皮宗鼎, 1763-?) during the 1811 Sinmi Tongsinsa: Gimajeolyu-do(騎馬折柳圖), which visualizes Sonyunhang (少年行), a Tang poem; Seowonajib-do(西園雅集圖), which depicts a gathering of Northern Song writers; Danghyunjongsangma-do(唐玄宗相馬圖), which depicts Emperor Xuanzong of Tang admiring a fast-running horse; and Chiljongchilgeum-do (七縱七擒圖), which depicts the story of Zhuge Liang(諸葛亮, 181-234) making Meng Huo(孟獲, ?-?) his subordinate after capturing and releasing him seven times. These paintings have Pi Jong-Jung, the requester’s painting poetry and official signature, which enables the review of not only the year of production and backgrounds, but as well as Shin Yun-Bok’s status at the time. There is also significance in that tracing the process and method by which paintings were custom-made and given as gifts by individual delegates in addition to painters from the official delegation enables discussion on the exchange of paintings between Korea and Japan in the late Joseon Dynasty. The most critical aspect is that they display Shin Yun-Bok’s exceptional precision drawing in color paintings of figures, especially his delicate and refined character portrayal and excellent sense of color. Shin Yun-Bok, while having been influenced by his senior painters in utilizing themes and materials, he completed the Chinese-style paintings of figures from classic literatures by reinterpreting them in his own style. This is another critical aspect as it influenced the works of later painters and helped introduce paintings of Joseon Dynasty to Japan.