〈南池耆老會圖〉는 1629년(인조 7) 6월 5일 李貴(1557~1633), 李好閔(1553~1634), 李惟侃(1550~1634) 등 11명의 노인이 숭례문 밖에 있던 洪思斅(1555~1634)의 집에서 가졌던 사적인 모임을 화원화가 李起龍(1600~?)이 그린 계회도다. 현재 서울대학교 박물관 소장본(보물 제866호) 등 총 9점이 남아 전한다. 원래 참석 예정자 12명은 68세부터 81세까지 연령대가 다양했다. 당일 실제 참석자는 11명이었으나, 그림은 12본이 제작되었고, 인물도 12명을 그려 넣었다. 모임 장면의 그림, 張維(1587~1638)의 발문, 참석자 명단인 座目, 화면 좌우에 적힌 李景稷(1577~1640)의 序文으로 구성되었다. 모임 당시 그려진 원본으로 추정되는 서울대학교 박물관 소장본(보물 제866호)을 비롯하여 현재 남아있는 여러 본 가운데, 국립제주박물관 소장 〈남지기로회도〉는 참석자 중 하나였던 이유간의 8대손이었던 李奎遠(1833~1901) 제주목사 후손 가문에서 2003년 국립제주박물관에 기증한 것이다. 제목은 빈 자리로 남겨두었고, 사물의 위치와 공간을 제대로 이해하지 못한 착오가 보이며, 화풍상 민화에 가깝다. 본고에서는 제작 시기를 19세기 후반경으로 보았다. 또한, 모임 당시로부터 200여 년이 흐른 후에도 선조의 중요한 유물이 지속적으로 모사되어 전해지고, 때로는 원본이 없는 상태에서도 모사본이 또다른 모사본을 탄생시키는 전통을 보여준다는 점에서 각별한 의미가 있다고 보았다. 『가전화첩』이라는 형식으로, 명망 있는 가문에서 선조대의 중요한 업적이나 행사를 그림으로 그려 대대로 전해지게 한 예는 『愛日堂具慶帖』, 『宣寧南氏家傳畵帖』, 『大邱徐氏家傳畵帖』 등이 있다. 그런데, 여러 가문 내에서 동시에 한 작품을 지속 적으로 모사한 것은 〈남지기로회도〉가 거의 유일하다고 할 수 있다. 남지기로회도의 참석자들은 후대 19세기까지 세도가문의 중추를 이루었던 인물들로, 학파와 가문의 내력을 중시하던 당시의 가전화첩 제작 문화 속에서 다른 어느 그림보다도 반복 제작되었던 것으로 보아야 할 것이다. 즉 궁중의 기로소처럼 70대가 넘은 전현직 고위관료들의 모임이면서, 정치적 지향점과 풍류와 우애를 나누던 이들의 모임은 19세기에 이르러 어떤 행적보다 가문의 영광이 될 만 했고, 그러한 영광스러운 순간이라는 과거는 가문의 현재 결속과 미래를 위해 지속적으로 그림으로 모사되었던 것으로 생각된다.
Painting of a Gathering of Venerable Officials by Namji Pond produced by the court painter Yi Gi-ryong(1600~?) depicts a private gathering of eleven senior men, including Yi Gwi(1557~1633), Yi Ho-min (1553-1634), and Yi Yu-gan (1550-1734), at the house of Hong Sa-hyo (1555-1634) outside the Sungnyemun Gate of Seoul on the fifth day of the sixth lunar month of 1629. Nine copies of this painting, including one on the Seoul National University Museum, remain today. Twelve people ranging in age from sixty-eight to eighty-one were invited to this gathering, but eleven eventually attended. Only retired senior officials over age of seventy could join the Giroso(Hall of Venerable Officials). However, since this was a private gathering, sixty-eight-year-olds were allowed to take part, a reflection of the tradition of the Gathering of Nine Elders on Mount Xiangshan in China. This painting includes a title written in seal script (in some of the nine copies the space for the title is left blank), a depiction of the gathering, a colophon by Jang Yu (1587-1638), a list of attendees, and a preface by Yi Gyeong-jik (1577-1640), the son of Yi Yu-gan, on separate sheets are attached at the left and right borders of the painting. Although eleven people actually joined the gathering, the painting depicts all twelve invitees. Among the several existing copies of Painting of a Gathering of Venerable Officials by Namji Pond, the version in the Seoul National University Museum (Treasure No. 866) is presumed to be the original produced at the time of the gathering. The copy in the collection of the Jeju National Museum was donated in 2003 by descendants of the Jeju county magistrate Yi Gyu-won(1833-1901), an eighth-generation linear descendant of Yi Yu-gan, who attended the gathering. Soon after the painting was donated, it was displayed at a special exhibition. This paper attempts to shed new light on this painting. The space for the title in this copy is left blank, as can also be seen in the version in the Korea University Museum. The Jeju copy fails to realistically position and spatially perceive objects, reflecting the original. The painting style is similar to that of folk painting. In this paper, I argue that Painting of a Gathering of Venerable Officials by Namji Pond in the Jeju National Museum was copied at some point around the late nineteenth century. Together with the other extant copies and related records, this painting carries a significant meaning in that it embodies the tradition of continuously copying precious antiquities passed down for more than 200 years and reproducing duplicates of missing originals. Prominent families produced gajeon hwacheop (family biography pain ting albums) illustrating the great achievements of their ancestors and major family events. These albums were transmitted from generation to generation. Examples include Album for the Parents of Aeildang, Painting Album of the Family Biography of the Nam Clan in Uiryeong, and Painting Album of the Family Biography of the Seo Clan in Daegu. However, Painting of a Gathering of Venerable Officials by Namji Pond is the sole example of a work copied repeatedly by several families. The attendees of the gathering of seniors at Namji Pond belonged to families that remained influential until the late nineteenth century. Given the cultural context of powerful families producing family biography painting albums, the version at the Jeju National Museum must have been copied more repeatedly than any other painting. At the time, family histories and schools of thought were paramount. Thus, the gathering in 1629 was not only a get-together for active and retired high-ranking officials over the age of seventy, like the Giroso, but a meeting of those who shared political opinions and tastes in the arts and cultivated mutual friendships. By the nineteenth century, such gatherings were regarded by the families of their attendees as highly honorable. Accordingly, this glorious and honorable moment from the past was continuously painted to support family bonding and promote the families’ future.