Amitabha Geungnak Assembly Painting of Bokcheonsa Temple

At the centre of the painting the Buddha Amitabha sits in full lotus position, and before him stand Brahma and Indra, dressed in the robes of heavenly beings, with hands joined in worship. To the left and right of the principal Buddha, Avalokitesvara, whose crown bears a small Buddha image, and Mahasthamaprapta, who holds a water bottle, sit in the royal-ease posture, while outside them stand four further bodhisattvas, two on each side, hands joined in worship. In the lower foreground are placed statues of the Four Heavenly Kings, and at the top, arranged symmetrically, are Ananda and Kasyapa, two vajra guardians and ten arhats. Amitabha's ushnisha rises to a point, and yellow and vermilion are used alternately to render the crown jewel and the middle jewel. His face is round and flat, with the features gathered towards the centre. The body's proportions, with broad shoulders and wide knees, give a sense of stability. The halo consists of a round green head-halo and a round gold body-halo. The bodhisattvas at either side share the same treatment of body, contour lines, and head and face as the principal Buddha, and are notable for the use of a raised, embossed technique on the crowns and beaded ornaments. Brahma and Indra, standing at the front on either side of the principal Buddha, have bodies rendered in white, their contour lines drawn in pale ink overlaid with light red. The clouds filling the upper part of the sky are used to divide the groups of figures, and are coloured green and vermilion respectively. An inscription on the painting records that it was made in 1892 at Gwaneumsa Temple on Gwanaksan Mountain; how or why it later came to Bokcheonsa Temple is not known. The main panel is relatively large, measuring 178.6 cm in height and 224.5 cm in width, and is on the whole well preserved. It is a heritage of value for research into both the iconography of late-Joseon Amitabha Geungnak assembly paintings and the painter-monks who produced them.

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Where it is

Region

Yeongdo-gu, Busan

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산