Background
Kim Myeong-guk was born in 1600.
Kim Myeong-guk was born in 1600.
Quite immediately, Kim Myeong-guk appeared as a new type of artist, clearly distinctive from his contemporaries, who more or less worked as craftsmen that faithfully replicated mainstream styles. Nevertheless, (or precisely for this reason), Kim Myeong-guk has been in charge of many official artistic tasks. The 1636 delegation was led by Im Gwang (1579–1644), while the 1643 delegation was led by Yun Sunji (1591–1666).
Dalmado (cf infra) was painted during his second trip to Japan.
In 1647, he directed a team of 6 Senior painters (화원) and 66 other people to repair the Changgyeong Palace. Later he was in charge of portraits of meritorious subjects.
The circumstances and the year of his death are unknown. His last known painting (Sasipalgyeongdo) dates back to 1662.
A diplomatic statement is "he was known to have an artistic personality that was characterized by individualism and obstinacy", while an understatement would be "his contemporaries described him as a carefree drunkard, a characterization that corresponds to the Chinese image of the eccentric artist".
He entered the royal service as a member of the Dohwaseo, the official painters of the Joseon court. He was member of both the large-scale Tongsinsa send to Japan by King Injo (1595–1623–1649).