Four Guardian Kings Painting of Beomeosa Temple

This painting, preserved at Beomeosa Temple, depicts the Four Guardian Kings, who were originally directional deities of India but, once absorbed into Buddhism, came to be depicted chiefly as dharma-protecting spirits dwelling on Mount Sumeru and guarding the four cardinal directions. The Four Guardian Kings are known as the Guardian King of the East (Jiguk), the Guardian King of the South (Jeungjang), the Guardian King of the West (Gwangmok) and the Guardian King of the North (Damun), each residing on his own side of Mount Sumeru to protect that direction. The Beomeosa Four Guardian Kings Painting comprises four silk scroll panels, each over 350 cm long, with a single guardian king painted on each. The Guardian King of the East holds a sword; the Guardian King of the South holds a dragon and a wish-fulfilling jewel; the Guardian King of the West holds a pagoda and a banner; and the Guardian King of the North holds a pipa. The bodies of the guardian kings are coated overall in vermilion (or in places brown) and shaded in a single tone to suggest volume, with the outlines of flesh and drapery folds drawn in red; the heads are coated in ink with contours finished in malachite green. The wide, glaring pupils are rendered with such three-dimensionality that they seem almost to bulge outward. For the eyebrows, moustache, beard and sideburns, a pale ink wash was laid down first, followed by fine dark-ink lines delicately picking out individual hair roots. The figures wear armour, its patterns rendered mainly on a red ground in white mineral pigment, pale green, yellow and white. The hems of the celestial scarves, which curve and ripple rhythmically along the upper and lower edges of the composition, are decorated with continuous scrolling lotus-and-arabesque motifs in vermilion, white mineral pigment, malachite green, pale green and red. Purple and pale green clouds appear at the top of the composition. An inscription at the centre of the lower part of the painting records that it was made in the eighth year of the Tongzhi era, that is, in 1869, the sixth year of Emperor Gojong of Joseon. Very few Buddhist paintings depicting the Four Guardian Kings alone survive in Korea today, and among them the Beomeosa painting is thought to be by far the largest in scale. It is also notable for its rendering of form and expression in each figure and for its delicate brushwork, and is valued as an important work for the study of Buddhist painting iconography in the late Joseon period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Geumjeong-gu, Busan

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산