Hanging Painting of Yulgoksa Temple

The Yulgoksa Temple gwaebul (a hanging painting, a huge Buddhist painting hung outdoors for great ceremonies) is painted across almost the entire surface with a single bodhisattva-type figure, and measures 475 cm wide and 827 cm long. This bodhisattva-like figure wears an extremely ornate crown, at the centre of which are enshrined five small Buddha images. The face is round, with eyebrows drawn as if slightly raised, a long nose, a small mouth and moderately large ears; the features are very neat and well-composed, and three clear curved lines mark the neck. The robe follows the form of a Buddha's vestment, lavishly decorated with various floral patterns along the hem of the undergarment, the sleeve cuffs and the upper section, and is notable for the lower left hem of the outer robe being finished with gold thread. Both hands hold a lotus branch in bloom with white and red flowers, and long hair falls over the dignified shoulders, wrapping around the ears. On the broad chest is an ornament hung with a large lotus flower, chrysanthemum-shaped earrings are worn, and the two feet, resting on lotus pedestals, are rendered with great delicacy. On either side of the background, peonies are painted symmetrically in eight rows; set against green leaves, the flowers appear in red, white, pink, grey, orange and other colours, lending the picture a cheerful mood while adding to its splendour. Painted in the tenth year of King Sukjong of Joseon (1684), this painting carries an inscription at the bottom of the picture recording clearly both the painter and the fact that it was restored in the fifth year of King Yeongjo of Joseon (1729). One point of particular interest is an inscription between the figure's two feet praying for the wellbeing of the king, the queen and the crown prince, an example rarely found in other hanging paintings. Its overall condition is well preserved, and its neat, refined brushwork, elegant and balanced bodily proportions, sumptuous yet stable and harmonious colouring, and varied, delicate patterning are all outstanding, giving it ample value as a resource for the study of seventeenth-century Buddhist painting.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Sancheong, Gyeongnam

Designation

Treasure · 보물