Eungjinjeon Hall Vulture Peak Assembly Painting of Jangansa Temple

The Vulture Peak Assembly Painting of Sakyamuni in Eungjinjeon Hall of Jangansa Temple is a Buddhist painting hung as a backdrop behind the Sakyamuni triad. It is a so-called hongtaeng (a "red painting"), in which the entire ground is painted red, outlines are drawn in white and yellow, and colour is applied only to the figures' faces and parts of their pedestals. Some localised damage is visible, but overall the painting is in good condition. The composition depicts only Sakyamuni and eighteen disciples, rendered simply. The faces of the sixteen arhats flanking the main Buddha, including Ananda and Kasyapa, are rendered using shading techniques to give each a distinctive and dynamic expression, and their free, unrestrained gestures are also striking. In particular, the four arhats placed at the front left and right sit facing one another on lotus pedestals rising above the clouds, an unusual iconography that calls to mind the lotus-born souls of the Western Paradise of Amitabha. According to its production record (hwagi), the painting was made in 1882 under the direction of the monk-painters Suryong Gijeon and Gwanheo Uigwan, both of whom were active as monk-painters at Haeinsa Temple. It also appears to have been made at the same time as the Buddhist paintings enshrined in 1882 in Daeungjeon Hall of Beomeosa Temple. It is regarded overall as a fine work notable for the varied expressions and gestures of its figures and its bold brushwork.

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Where it is

Region

Gijang, Busan

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산