Hanging Painting of Manyeonsa Temple

A gwaebul is a large Buddhist painting hung in the courtyard in front of the main hall of a temple for major rites and ceremonies; the Hanging Painting of Manyeonsa Temple follows the Sakyamuni Triad format, with Sakyamuni Buddha at the centre and the bodhisattvas Manjusri and Samantabhadra on either side. This hanging painting at Manyeonsa Temple measures 827 cm in length and 592.4 cm in width. At the centre stands the principal Buddha, flanked on the left by Manjusri holding a ruyi sceptre and on the right by Samantabhadra holding a lotus stem. Although the three figures are the same size, the principal Buddha's face is large in proportion to his body, while Manjusri and Samantabhadra have smaller faces and slender proportions. This hanging painting is richly decorated with patterns of dragons, scrolling foliage and waves together with beaded ornaments, and is especially distinctive for the lower garments of the bodhisattvas, painted with bamboo, bamboo shoots, pines and oddly-shaped rocks in blue pigment on a white ground, recalling the decoration of blue-and-white porcelain. An inscription in the lower part of the painting records that it was painted in 1793, the seventh year of King Jeongjo of Joseon, by the chief painter Bihyeon together with the painters Kwaeyun and Do-ok, three in all. Although it is a work of the late eighteenth century and so later in date than many other gwaebul, it is a notable work that, while holding to tradition, shows an unrivalled level of accomplishment in its splendid patterning, deep colouring and fluent brushwork.

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Where it is

Region

Hwasun, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Treasure · 보물