Hanging Painting of Geumdangsa Temple

This gwaebul depicts a single, richly adorned Buddha filling the entire picture plane. A gwaebul is a large Buddhist painting hung in the courtyard in front of the main hall for great ceremonies and rites at a temple. This painting, 9.66 m long and 4.97 m wide, shows a standing image of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. The outer edge of the halo is rendered in vivid colours as a flame pattern, within which ten small Buddha images are placed on each side. The head bears a crown decorated with the faces of numerous Buddhas, flanked by depictions of phoenixes. The facial features are small, and the face is drawn large in proportion to the body. The figure holds a lotus branch, and the sumptuous ornaments and patterned robes dominate the picture. The colouring is mainly vermilion, with green, pink and white used to create a soft, subdued atmosphere. Painted in 1692, the eighteenth year of King Sukjong, by the painter Myeongwon and three others, this gwaebul, with its overall splendid yet subdued patterns and colours, well expresses the character of Buddhist paintings of the late seventeenth century. Together with the Hanging Painting of Tongdosa Temple and the Hanging Painting of the Maitreya Buddha of Muryangsa Temple, it is recognised as one of the finest masterpieces among monumental-style gwaebul paintings.

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Where it is

Region

Jinan, Jeonbuk

Designation

Treasure · 보물