Hanging Painting of Yongheungsa Temple (Buddha Triad)

This is a large gwaebul, a huge Buddhist painting hung outdoors for great ceremonies, measuring over 10 metres in overall length. It has the character of a Buddha of the Three Ages, with the Sakyamuni Buddha painting at the centre, a separate painting of the Medicine Buddha to the viewer's left, and one of Amitabha Buddha to the viewer's right. Typical of the crowded-composition format that became popular from the seventeenth century onward, the painting divides the picture surface into upper, middle and lower registers: the three Buddhas occupy the middle register; the attendant bodhisattvas of each Buddha, together with the Guardian Kings of the East and South, occupy the lower register; and the Guardian Kings of the West and North, Buddhas of other realms, the Ten Great Disciples, the dragon king and dragon maiden, the assembly of sravakas, and manifestation Buddhas occupy the upper register. Apart from small differences in costume, hand gestures, poses, attributes and colouring appropriate to each figure's character, the composition, the placement of the figures, the shapes and colours of the clouds, the canopy, and even the beams of light radiating from Sakyamuni Buddha are almost perfectly symmetrical left and right, giving the work a somewhat formulaic character. Even so, the bright, vivid colouring and the refined brush-lines used to depict the figures fill it with vitality. Produced in 1684, an early date, and in good condition, this painting shows features that set it apart from other seventeenth-century gwaebul in its use of bright colouring, refined brushwork and distinctive composition. In particular, the pointed usnisa and the long right hand extended with the little finger spread, both seen in the main Buddha, Sakyamuni, are features that run through a line of works from the Hanging Painting of Jungnimsa Temple (1622) to the Hanging Painting of the Yeongsan Assembly of Bosalsa Temple (1649) and the Hanging Painting of the Yeongsan Assembly of Ansimsa Temple (1652), making this an important source for the study of seventeenth-century Buddhist painting.

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Where it is

Region

Sangju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Treasure · 보물