Yi Gwang-sa was one of the leading calligraphers of the Joseon period. He created a calligraphy style, called the 'Wongyo style' after his pen name, in an effort to establish an independent Korean style. The colophon at top right reveals the portrait was painted in 1775, when Yi was 70 years old, by court painter Shin Han-pyeong, father of the famous genre painter Shin Yun-bok.