Yeongwonsa Temple Vairocana Bul Altar Painting

This Buddhist painting is a rare type of work in which a Vairocana altar painting is enshrined on its own rather than as part of a set. It shows features typical of Buddhist paintings of the late eighteenth century particularly well: the well-proportioned bodies and serene faces of the figures, their small facial features, fluid brushwork, and deep tones of red and green. Because its production record gives an exact date and the names of the painters, it serves as a benchmark work for understanding the Buddhist painting of the period. The painting was originally enshrined at Yeongwonsa Temple in Geumdae-ri, Panbu-myeon, Wonju, and is now held at the Seongbo Museum of Woljeongsa Temple. A production record at the centre of the lower edge shows that it was made in 1759 (the twenty-fourth year of the Qianlong reign) by the monk-painters Ogwan, Hwaun, Myosim and others, and was enshrined at Yeongwonsa Temple on Chiaksan Mountain, Wonju. At the centre of the composition, the Buddha Vairocana is flanked by eight bodhisattvas, the Four Heavenly Kings, and the Dragon King and Dragon Girl, arranged in strict left-right symmetry, with the background filled entirely with clouds. It is unusual that, although the principal figure is Vairocana, the attendant bodhisattvas on either side are depicted as Avalokitesvara (Gwaneum) and Mahasthamaprapta (Seji), who normally accompany Amitabha. Given the painting's horizontally elongated format, it is thought that this was not one of a set of three Buddha paintings enshrined together — Vairocana, Rocana and Sakyamuni, representing the Three Bodies of the Buddha — but that the Vairocana image was enshrined alone; surviving examples of a solitary Vairocana altar painting, rather than one from a Trikaya set, are extremely rare. The Vairocana Buddha, with a winnowing-basket-shaped halo, sits in the full lotus position on a high pedestal, forming the wisdom-fist mudra; the robe bears a simple floral pattern, and the inner edge of the halo is bordered with a beaded design. The principal image, like the other figures, has a well-proportioned body and an oval, serene face with extremely small features; its meticulous composition, rendered in sharp fine lines, and its use of dark, muted maroon and dark green, clearly show the painting style of the late eighteenth century. Although the painting suffers overall from severe cracking and flaking of pigment, its stable composition and meticulous rendering stand out, and because its production record reveals the date of production, the place of enshrinement, and the monk-painters involved, it is valued as an important resource for the study of late Joseon Buddhist painting.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Pyeongchang, Gangwon

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산