Eight Scenes from the Life of the Buddha of Gaeunsa Temple

This palsangdo — a painting depicting the eight great scenes from the life of the Buddha — is currently enshrined on the wall to the left as one faces the front of Daeungjeon Hall at Gaeunsa Temple, and was painted in 1883 by the monk-painters Daeheo Chehun, Geumgok Yeonghwan and Hanbong Changyeop. Whereas palsangdo generally divide the eight scenes of the Buddha's life across eight separate panels, this work divides a single rectangular picture surface into eight sections, showing all eight scenes within one panel — a divided-composition format. The picture surface is made of four widths of silk joined together and is enshrined behind glass; it is in reasonably good condition, though discolouration has left the picture rather dark overall. This painting is a representative example of the divided-composition Buddhist paintings that were popular mainly in the Seoul and Gyeonggi region in the late nineteenth century, depicting the life of Shakyamuni Buddha in eight scenes within a single picture. Through its liberal use of primary colours, its omission of some of the eight scenes, and its divided-composition layout, it both carries on the tradition of eighteenth-century palsangdo and clearly displays the features of nineteenth-century palsangdo, making it one of relatively few surviving palsangdo from the Seoul area. It is also a representative work showing the new iconography and style of late nineteenth-century Buddhist monk-painters of the Seoul and Gyeonggi region, including Daeheo Chehun, Geumgok Yeonghwan and Hanbong Changyeop.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Seongbuk-gu, Seoul

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산