Also known by his courtesy name of “Yeongbo” (英甫) or his penname “Wooam” (尤庵), Song Siyeol (1607–1689) was a prominent Confucian scholar of the Joseon Dynasty. He was a member of the Eunjin Song clan of Nonsan, Chungcheongbuk-do Province, and a leading figure of the Noron faction that rose to prominence in the mid-Joseon period. In this portrait, Song Siyeol is depicted wearing casual everyday clothes, such as a imuis (scholar’s robe) and bokgeon (black hat with rear flap). The identity of the artist is unknown, but as compared to other portraits of Song Siyeol, this one shows an even more detailed expression of the face and beard, with no exaggeration or distortion. The lifelike depiction of the face is accentuated by the extremely simple, unembellished rendering of the body, a technique that helps to bring Song Siyeol, the distinguished scholar, to life.

Many of the representative portraits from the early and mid-Joseon period depict “gongsin” (功臣), or “meritorious subjects,” who had made notable contributions to the society. Such portraits typically emphasize the high and honorable status of the subject by showing him solemnly seated in a chair placed on a colorful carpet, wearing the full dress and regalia of an official, including a round collar and prominent rank badges. In contrast to these more resplendent works, portraits of Neo-Confucian scholars from the late Joseon period tend to adopt a much simpler composition and almost monochromatic palette, befitting the image of one who prioritizes scholarly pursuits over rank or prestige. As opposed to the lavish robes and adornments of the early officials, the scholars of the late period are often depicted wearing plain everyday clothing. Notably, some of the earliest examples of such portraits showing scholars in casual clothing are portraits of Song Siyeol. Through the years, many portraits of Song Siyeol were produced by his descendants or later scholars who revered him and sought to carry on his legacy, boosting the overall popularity of Neo-Confucian scholar portraits in this style.

Adding to the intrigue of this portrait, the inscriptions on the upper part consist of writings by Song Siyeol himself and King Sukjong (r. 1674–1720). The inscription on the upper right was composed by Song Siyeol in 1651, when he was forty-four years old, leading some to speculate that the portrait was created around that time. But others have noted that Song Siyeol looks much older than forty-four in the portrait, indicating that the painting may have been produced years after the passage was written. Song’s inscription is a humble and self-reflective poem, which can be translated as follows:

麋鹿之群 Amongst the deer in nature,
蓬蓽之廬 you live in a thatched cottage.
窓明人靜 When the window is brightly lit and the surroundings are quiet,
忍飢看書 you read books while enduring hunger.
爾形枯臞 Your appearance is plain,
爾學空疎 and your learning is empty.
帝衷爾負 You have violated the true heart of Heaven
聖言爾侮 and disregarded the words of sages.
宜爾置之 Undoubtedly,
蠶魚之伍 You’re nothing but a bookworm.

崇禎紀元後辛卯 I, Song Siyeol, write this in 1651,
尤翁自警于華陽書屋 to remind myself of self-reflection in my cottage in Hwayangdong.

Meanwhile, the inscription by King Sukjong is believed to be copied from a portrait of Jeong Mongju (1338–1392), a famed calligrapher and diplomat. In 1718, King Sukjong reportedly visited a portrait hall dedicated to Jeong Mongju and composed the inscription on one of the portraits. Recent interpretations suggest that this portrait of Song Siyeol is a copy made in the nineteenth century, at which time both inscriptions were added. Even though these inscriptions may not provide evidence of the original production date of the portrait of Song Siyeol, they certainly increase its value and prestige. The inscription by King Sukjeong reads as follows:

節義千秋高 Loyalty and righteousness remain noble through the passage of 1000 years,
平生我敬重 and I have respected him all my life.
烈祖屢褒崇 Even the past kings praised and highly esteemed him,
士林孰不聳 so who among the scholars would not honor him?
橫竪皆當理 His words, expressed in various directions, all conform to reason
蔚然理學宗 while also showing beauty; thus, he became the vanguard of learning.
不盡經淪業 However, he could not carry out grand plans to govern the world,
吁嗟叔季逢 (alas!), as the world he encountered was filled with chaos.
洛中祠屋在 In the shrine in Hanyang,
遺像肅淸高 where his dignified and noble portrait resides,
衿佩盈庭會 when all the scholars gather,
承宣奠一醪 the royal secretary offers a glass of wine to the portrait.

崇禎紀元後再戊戌三月, In the third month of 1718,
追製於萬機之暇 amidst the busy affairs of state, I find a moment to write.

As mentioned, numerous portraits of Song Siyeol wearing plain, everyday clothes were not only produced during his lifetime, but also copied and revised into new paintings by subsequent generations. As a result, there are many extant portraits of Song Siyeol, including four housed at the National Museum of Korea (one of which is in an album of paintings); eight entrusted to Cheongju National Museum (three sketches and five finished paintings); one at Leeum Museum of Art; and one at Hwanggangyeongdang Hall in Jecheon, Chungcheongbuk-do Province. It is quite rare to find so many different paintings of the same person from the Joseon period, showing various styles and forms.

Unlike many Western portraits, Joseon portraits were not intended to simply be hung in a person’s home as decoration. In most cases, Joseon portraits were produced in order to be enshrined in a special shrine or portrait hall for use in various rituals. At first, however, the elaborate process of painting a portrait, building a shrine, enshrining the portrait, and offering rituals was not favored by Joseon Neo-Confucianists, who promoted austerity and humility. Unlike Buddhism, wherein portraits are widely used in funerary and ancestral rituals, Neo-Confucianism generally prohibited the visual representation of humans in sculptures or paintings, instead utilizing mortuary tablets in such rituals. But over time, Neo-Confucian scholars gradually established the tradition of using portraits to venerate their ancestors, until portraits came to be regarded as a type of mortuary tablet. In addition, prominent Joseon figures like Heo Mok (1595–1682), Bak Sedang (1629–1703), Yun Jeung (1629–1714), and Nam Guman (1629–1711) left portraits of themselves that their descendants or students then repeatedly copied. As a result, by the late Joseon period, there was no longer any significant resistance to the construction of shrines and the widespread use of portraits in ancestral rituals.