From a Regional Painter to a Royal Portraitist: The Formation of Ch’ae Yong-sin’s Early Style and the 1900 Royal Portrait Commission

This study investigates how Ch’ae Yong-sin (1850–1941), who was active as a regional painter in Chŏnju, was appointed as the lead painter (jugwan-hwasa) for the production of King T’aejo’s royal portrait in 1900. This commission was part of Emperor Kojong’s broader project to honor King T’aejo, the founder of the Chosŏn Dynasty.Previous scholarship on Ch’ae Yong-sin has largely focused on the portraits he produced in the North Chŏlla region after his retirement from public office as the magistrate of Chŏngsan-gun in 1906. This is due to the survival of over 100 portraits from his later period (1906–1930s), while works pre-dating 1906 are exceedingly rare. To address this research gap caused by a lack of primary materials, this paper identifies the 1896 Portrait of Song Pyŏngsŏn as a newly attributed work by Ch’ae. Furthermore, the study examines his activities as a regional artist by analyzing the architectural drawings tohyŏng he produced while participating in the 1899 construction of Chogyŏngdan Shrine in Chŏnju. Chae achieved an unprecedented level of realism by employing countless brushstrokes to express skin texture and three-dimensional volume. At a historical juncture when the central government’s professional painter system was collapsing and photography was emerging as a competing medium, Ch’ae’s portraiture—rooted in traditional techniques yet intensified by meticulous realism—enhanced his competitiveness as a royal portraitist.