Late-Joseon genre painter (Hyewon)
| Life | 1758 |
| Era | 조선 후기 |
| Clan | 고령 신씨 |
Sin Yun-bok (申潤福, 1758-?) was a late Joseon court painter and one of the period's leading genre painters. His pen name was Hyewon and his courtesy names Ipbu and Deogyeo. His childhood name was Sin Ga-gwon (申可權), which came to light from a seal bearing that name on the Portrait of a Beauty in the Kansong Art Museum. He was a son of Sin Han-pyeong (申漢枰), a painter of the Royal Bureau of Painting who twice took part in painting King Yeongjo's royal portrait, and he had a younger brother, Sin Yun-su. His father was once impeached and exiled early in King Jeongjo's reign over a painting judged unacceptable.
His family descended from Sin Su-jin, a secondary son of Sin Gong-seop, grandson of Sin Mal-ju, and so belonged to the middle class (jungin), producing generations of interpreters, legal clerks and court painters such as Sin Se-dam, Sin Il-heung and Sin Han-pyeong. Because the line came from a secondary son it was omitted from the clan genealogy, and his ancestry became known only in the twentieth century. He was thus not a direct descendant of Sin Suk-ju but a collateral descendant through Sin Suk-ju's younger brother Sin Mal-ju.
Following his father into the Royal Bureau of Painting, he rose to the ranks of cheomjeong and cheomjeoljesa, a junior third-rank military post. Together with Kim Hong-do and Kim Deuk-sin he represents late Joseon genre painting, depicting romance between men and women, the pleasures of gisaeng and idlers, and the life of the streets and of women with delicate, flowing lines and brilliant color. He is credited with gently satirizing the hypocrisy of the yangban while creating a romantic atmosphere, and his frequent use of women as the main subject is considered a hallmark of his work; he was also skilled at landscape. His masterpieces include the Hyewon jeonsincheop album, a National Treasure containing works such as Dano pungjeong and Wolha jeongin, and the Portrait of a Beauty, all held by the Kansong Art Museum.
After King Jeongjo's death in 1800 the freer atmosphere faded and his output declined; his last known work dates from 1813. The date and place of his death are unknown, but he is thought to have died around 1814. He is also said to have been a collateral ancestor, eight generations removed, of the independence activist Sin Chae-ho.