id:			161268
accession number:	1999.45
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1999.45
updated:		2023-01-11 09:05:27.983000

Portrait of an Official, early 1800s. Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392-1910). Ink and color on silk; 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.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1999.45

title:				Portrait of an Official
title in original language:	관료초상 (官僚肖像)
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			early 1800s
creation date earliest:		1800
creation date latest:		1840
current location:		
creditline:			Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392-1910)
technique:	ink and color on silk
department:	Korean Art
collection:	Korean Art
type:		Painting
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: 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.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* <em>Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 238)</em>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (June 12, 2013-January 28, 2014).

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PROVENANCE

	(The Chinese Porcelain Company, New York, NY, sold to the Honorable Joseph P. Carroll and Roberta Carroll, MD)
	date: ?-1998
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Honorable Joseph P. Carroll and Roberta Carroll, MD, New York, NY
	date: 1998-1999
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	(Joseph P. Carroll, Ltd., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
	date: 1999
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1999-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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

digital 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. <br><br>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.

wall description:

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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Cho, Sun-mie. <em>Portrait Paintings in Korea </em>[한국초상화 연구]. Seoul: Youlhwadang, 1983.
	page number: 	
	url:		

	Yi, Tae-ho. <em>Realism in Late-Joseon Period Painting</em> [조선 후기 회화 의 사실 정신. Seoul: Hakkojae, 1996.
	page number: 	
	url:		

	Cleveland Museum of Art, “Major Contemporary German Painting Acquired by CMA,” June 9, 1999, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.
	page number: 	
	url:		https://archive.org/details/cmapr4262

	<em>Portraits of the Joseon Period</em> [조선 시대 초상화]. Seoul: National Museum of Korea, 2007.
	page number: 	
	url:		

	Cho, Sun-mie. <em>Great Korean Portraits.</em> Seoul: Dolbegae Publishers, 2010.
	page number: 	
	url:		

	<em>Treasures from Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty, 1392-1910</em>. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2014.
	page number: 	
	url:		

	Kim, Yeong-ju. "Study on Joseon-Period Korean Portraits in Formatted in Hanging Scroll [조선시대 초상화 족자의 형식에 대한 연구]." <em>Misul sahak</em> no. 28 (2014): 61-95.
	page number: 	
	url:		http://www.dbpia.co.kr/journal/articleDetail?nodeId=NODE02488829

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1999.45/1999.45_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1999.45/1999.45_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1999.45/1999.45_full.tif