Buddhist Painting in Daeungjeon Hall of Ssanggyesa Temple (Buddha Triad)

This painting, preserved in Daeungjeon Hall of Ssanggyesa Temple, itself a Treasure, is a Buddha Triad Painting of the Three Ages, with the Sakyamuni Buddha painting at the centre, the Medicine Buddha painting on the left, and the Amitabha Buddha painting on the right. The Sakyamuni Buddha painting shows a large principal Buddha at the upper centre of the composition, flanked symmetrically by the Eight Great Bodhisattvas including Manjusri and Samantabhadra, Indra and Brahma, two Buddhas of other worlds, the Ten Great Disciples including Kasyapa and Ananda, the Dragon King and Dragon Maiden, six Vajra guardians, and two of the Four Heavenly Kings. The principal Buddha has the keyhole-shaped halo typical of the seventeenth- to eighteenth-century style and forms the hangma chokjiin, the earth-touching mudra signifying the subjugation of demons. The topknot-shaped cranial protuberance comes to a sharp point, the central and crowning cranial ornaments are large, and although the ears, eyes, mouth and nose are neatly drawn, the squarish form of the body conveys the stiffness seen in Buddhist paintings of the late eighteenth century. The Medicine Buddha painting centres on the Medicine Buddha, holding a medicine box in the left hand in the same gesture as Amitabha, flanked symmetrically by the Sun and Moon Light Bodhisattvas among six Great Bodhisattvas, two of the Four Heavenly Kings, and the Twelve Divine Generals. Throughout, the figures' forms, colours and technique resemble those of the Sakyamuni Buddha painting, though together with the Amitabha painting the composition is somewhat more relaxed. The Amitabha Buddha painting is centred on the principal Buddha, surrounded by the Eight Great Bodhisattvas including Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta, two of the Four Heavenly Kings, two Buddhas of other worlds, and the Ten Great Disciples arranged almost like the Sixteen Arhats. This Buddha Triad of the Three Ages plays an important role in tracing the lineage of monk-painters from Uigyeom, the leading Buddhist painter active in the Jeolla region in the first half of the eighteenth century, down to Seungyun and Pyeongsam in the 1780s. As a complete large-scale Buddhist painting of the late eighteenth century, it is also an outstanding work showing relatively refined brushwork combined with a splendid yet restrained quality, making it indispensable for understanding the painting style of the period.

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Where it is

Region

Hadong, Gyeongnam

Designation

Treasure · 보물