이 논문은 조선후기 書畫收藏이 활발하게 전개된 배경과 주체를 다각도로 규명하고자 궁중과 私家의 중간자적 위치에 있던 宮家의 역할을 조명한 것이다. 궁가의 소장품은 오늘날까지 일부 자료가 전해지는 사례도 있지만, 세대가 거듭될수록 양반가 자료 속에서 궁가의 성격이 희석된 것이 대부분이다. 그러나 英祖의 잠저 彰義宮은 궁가 본연의 성격을 알려주는 소장목록이 남아 있고 서화컬렉션의 재구성이 가능하므로 이를 토대로 조선후기 궁가의 문화향유 양상을 확인할 수 있는 중요한 대상이다. 창의궁이 있던 서울 西村 지역은 궁가와 유력가문, 왕실재원인 창고가 밀집해 있어 새로운 예술취미, 높은 소비취향을 보인 중심지이자 영조가 잠저시설 머물렀던 약 10년 동안 서울의 사회적·경제적 변화상을 몸소 체험하게 해준 장소였다. 창의궁에 소장되었던 많은 서책과 서화, 여항에서 구득한 민화 등은 왕실로부터 지원받은 재원을 바탕으로 적극적인 소비행위를 펼쳐 시장 발달에 많은 영향을 끼친 궁가의 문화 활동을 보여준다. 도심 속 궁가는 왕실과 종친, 여항의 문화가 혼합되면서 御筆, 왕실족보와 서화류 등 궁중 물품이 자연스럽게 전래되었고 宮屬들의 경제활동과 시전상인들의 왕래를 통해 종로거리에서 판매한 經書類와 民畫풍 그림, 紙廛 소속 화가들이 그림을 그린 도배지 등을 입수하였다. 창의궁의 경우에도 컬렉션의 형성과 운영 주체는 영조였지만 왕실과 민가의 문화가 혼재된 궁가의 성격은 이곳에서도 찾아볼 수 있다. 따라서 본문에서 살펴본 창의궁, 명안궁, 저동궁, 창성궁, 운현궁의 조장품을 통해 궁가를 매개로 왕실문화가 여항으로, 반대로 여항의 문화가 궁가로 전파되었을 가능성은 충분히 있다고 본다. 궁가는 조선후기 번화한 도심지를 중심으로 이루어진 서화유통과 감상, 收藏의 원동력으로 작용했을 가능성이 크지만 아직까지 자료의 한계로 인해 그 실체가 명확하게 규명되고 있지 않다. 미술사 분야에서도 궁가 연구는 아직 시론에 불과하다. 향후 정밀한 성과가 축적되어 조선시대 미술문화를 이끈 다양한 주체를 밝히는 작업이 필요하다고 본다.
This paper examines the artistic role of gungga(宮家), the royal family households, by moving away from the dualistic approach of court-ordinary class such as official-literati and middle-people, in order to understand the subject of circulation, appreciation of art objects in late Joseon society. The main member of the palace was a royal family, but after marriage, he or she lived outside the palace and lived in the city, so he or she could have an opportunity to experience both culture inside and outside the palace. During the Joseon dynasty, many royal family households were built and disappeared, but most of them were changed or demolished during the Japanese occupation(1910-1945). In this context, it is difficult to approach the cultural center of the royal family households. The taste for art collecting in the Joseon Dynasty was not only formed by the noble hobby of the storehouse, but was a cultural and social meaning promoted through the painting space formed by the preservation, appreciation, exchange, provision and commercial sale of works. In Chang-eui Palace(彰義宮) which was located in the western village of Seoul, Seochon(西村), there were family houses, ritual shrine, and warehouses keeping royal resources. on the other side, it was a center showing a new artistic hobby and a high consumption taste. The Change-eui Palace was the place that gave the opportunity to Crown Prince Yeoning(延礽君, 1724-1776) to vividly experience such a change process of Seoul, for about 10 years. Many books, prints, and daily necessities preserved in the gungga, were used to support the cultural activities of the royal family households at the same time. The owners of the gungga were royal descendents or noble men who became royal members by marriage. They were the midst of connecting the royal palace with the family linage. In addition, it was able to naturally own the royal items closely with the royal family members, like various economic documents, and paintings of famous artists, Although it can not be said because there are not many examples in the present, it is important fact that the royal and private cultures are mixed is the characteristic of the royal family households. However, it is not possible to understand the real existence of royal family households as shown through the collection of the Changseong Palace(彰城宮) and Myeong-an Palace(明安宮). Now it is only allowed to open the possibility that the royal culture has been spread into the culture of ordinary people by mutually sharing the arts. The category and level of the arts and antiques experienced by the royal family households communicating with the royal palace and the private house seemed to be different from those of the inhabitants outside the palace. Therefore, it is highly possible that the household, centered on the busy downtown area, played a key role in the circulation, appreciation, and decoration of the art works in the late Joseon society. Nevertheless the reality is not clearly known due to lack of documents. In the field of art history, the study of the royal family households is still remained veiled. It needs to be able to reach closer to their reality by accumulating further achievements on the subject of gungga.