Muryangsa Temple Geungnakjeon Hall Altar Painting

This is a set of three hanging paintings that were displayed on the wall behind the Amitabha Triad in Geungnakjeon Hall. Although the inscription recording its production (hwagi) has flaked away, it is presumed to date from 1747, the same period as the Painting of the Three Treasury Bodhisattvas. With Amitabha Buddha at the centre, Avalokiteshvara (Gwaneum Bosal) and Mahasthamaprapta (Daeseji Bosal) each occupy a separate panel; it is the largest indoor Buddhist painting of its kind still in existence. The central painting depicts Amitabha large, filling the entire picture plane, flanked by the bodhisattvas Kshitigarbha and Maitreya, and Manjushri and Samantabhadra, with two pratyekabuddhas seated at the top. The colouring uses a strong complementary contrast of deep crimson and green, combined with bright blue and white lead pigment, with light washes of colour in particular creating a soft, subdued atmosphere. Both in form and colour, the work shows the influence of the technique of Uigyeom, the painter who created the Three Buddhas of the Past, Present and Future in Daeungjeon Hall at Gapsa Temple in 1730. The painting of Avalokiteshvara on the right is composed, in its upper register, of the Dragon Girl, an Asura holding the sun and a Gandharva wearing a lion crown, two disciples, two Vajra guardians, Brahma and the Bodhisattva Geumgangjang, and two of the Four Heavenly Kings. The painting of Mahasthamaprapta on the left is composed of the Dragon King, a Yaksha wearing an elephant mask and members of the guardian assembly, two disciples, two Vajra guardians, Indra, the Bodhisattva Jejang-ae, and two of the Four Heavenly Kings, the two paintings thus forming a symmetrical pair.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Buyeo, Chungnam

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산