Vulture Peak Assembly Painting of Bongeunsa Temple

This painting was made in 1895, together with four arhat (nahan) paintings and one lion painting, when the Buddha image, its two attendant bodhisattvas, and the arhat statues of Yeongsanjeon Hall were re-gilded. On a horizontally elongated canvas 114.8 cm high and 196.5 cm wide, it depicts Sakyamuni Buddha together with six bodhisattvas, disciples, the Four Heavenly Kings and Vajra guardians (geumgangsin), the figures arranged neatly in three rows so as to fill the entire picture plane. The principal Buddha, Sakyamuni, has a double halo and sits in the lotus posture upon a lotus seat set on a low Sumeru-shaped pedestal, with several rays of light radiating upward from the crown-knob on his head. His hair is rendered in tight spiral curls that come to a point at the top; his face is rounded, somewhat broad at the forehead and narrower at the chin, giving a full and gentle expression, with slender, elongated brows and eyes and a small nose and mouth. The body has broad, imposing shoulders, with a moderate fullness and stable proportions that create an impression of balance. The robe leaves the right shoulder bare, with the edge of the outer garment draped lightly over it; the hem of this outer garment is decorated with an elaborate lotus pattern. The chest is broadly exposed, and the upper edge of the horizontally rendered inner skirt is likewise patterned with flowers. In terms of hand gesture, the right hand is raised to the centre of the chest with the fingers joined together, while the left hand, with its first and third fingers joined, rests on the ankle of the right foot, which is set in the auspicious cross-legged posture. Instances of Sakyamuni forming the nine-grade mudra of Amitabha rather than the earth-touching mudra are common in Buddha images and paintings of the late Joseon period; here, the fact that Sakyamuni's hand gesture is rendered as Amitabha's nine-grade mudra is thought to be because the underlying sketch of the Amitabha afterimage paintings of Hwajangsa Temple (1870) and of Mitasa Temple's Daeungjeon Hall in Seoul (1873) was reused as it stood. The head halo is plain green and the body halo plain yellow, both without pattern. To either side of Sakyamuni, disciples, bodhisattvas, the Four Heavenly Kings and Vajra guardians are arranged in bilateral symmetry. At the very top the disciples stand in a row to left and right; at first glance they appear to number fourteen, but the two figures at the edges of the picture in fact represent two of the Eight Vajra Guardians, so that twelve arhats are actually depicted. The arhats range in appearance from young novice monks to elderly monks; since only their upper bodies are shown, their exact postures are difficult to make out in detail, but they wear red monastic robes and are shown pressing their palms together or holding a vase, a hand-drum, or similar objects. To either side of the principal Buddha's body halo, six bodhisattvas stand in attendance, facing the Buddha. The bodhisattvas immediately beside him are thought to be Manjusri and Samantabhadra, his two attendant bodhisattvas; next to them stand Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta, wearing crowns bearing, respectively, an image of Amitabha and an image of a water bottle. The identity of the bodhisattvas at the outer edges cannot be determined from their attributes, but they probably represent two of the bodhisattvas said in the Lotus Sutra to have gathered to hear Sakyamuni preach. All the bodhisattvas have green head-halos and wear elaborate red crowns, and share a similar appearance, with fleshy faces and small features; apart from Avalokitesvara, who holds a bottle containing a white lotus, all have their palms pressed together. The Four Heavenly Kings are depicted on a large scale, two to each side at the bottom of the composition. Perhaps because of the horizontal format, all four are shown seated on gold-coloured tables: the kings on the viewer's right hold a pipa and a sword, while those on the left hold a banner and a pagoda, and a dragon and a wish-fulfilling jewel, respectively. Compared with the otherwise very still figures of the retinue, the Four Heavenly Kings bend their bodies or spread their legs to an almost exaggerated degree, bringing life to an otherwise static scene, although the fluttering of their heavenly scarves is somewhat cluttered and gives a slightly busy impression. Although many figures are arranged across the composition, their scale diminishes toward the top of the picture, so that it never feels crowded. Green and red form the dominant colours, together with blue, flesh tone, white, yellow, gold ink and gold leaf. The bodhisattvas' halos and red scarves lend the painting a somewhat dark tone, but the interior of the principal Buddha's body halo is painted pale yellow, and gold ink is applied to the tables on which the Four Heavenly Kings sit, to parts of their armour, and to their weapons, giving the whole a splendid, decorative effect. The brush lines are drawn in the firm, straight "iron-wire" technique; shading is used especially on the faces of the Four Heavenly Kings, and each strand of their beards is rendered with meticulous care, showing clear evidence of the effort involved. The votive inscription records that, on the twentieth day of the twelfth month of 1895 (eulmi, the 504th year since the founding of Joseon), the principal Buddha of Yeongsanjeon Hall was re-gilded together with its two great attendant disciples and the arhat images, the spirit tablets were opened and refurbished, and new paintings were made at the same time: one Vulture Peak Assembly afterimage, four panels for the various groups of arhats, one spirit-guardian panel, and one messenger panel; the eye-opening consecration of the food offerings to the spirits took place on the twenty-sixth day, and the paintings were enshrined at Bongeunsa Temple on Sudosan Mountain, Gwangju. Those involved in the production included: as certifiers, Yeonung Gihyeon and Seolbong Taemun; as mantra reciter, Yongho Yeongju; as hall attendant, the monk Taehwan; as chief painter, Deokwol Eungnyun; as assistant painters, the monks Sanggyu, Seonmyeong and Wangeun; as supply monk, Sangchan; as assistant supply monk, Changjeom; as bell-keeper, the monk Ilu; as superintendent, Wolbong Beopneung; and as chief patron, Haeong Jaseon. Among the resident temple community were the incumbent pansa Haeong (name partly illegible), together with Punghocanghha, Chimsong Chongjeon, and the head monk Chukseon. Among the donors, the monk Haeong Jaseon dedicated the merit on behalf of his late teacher, Chundam Seeun; the laywoman Kim-ssi Wonsanghaeng, on behalf of her late husband Kim Jae-ryong (born in a jeonghae year); and further donations came from the late court lady Pyeongneung Yu-ssi (given name partly illegible), court lady Kim-ssi Cheongjeonghwa (born in a sinsa year), court lady Yi-ssi Daegakhwa (born in an eulyu year), court lady Yi-ssi (born in a jeongyu year), and the male donor Jeong Jong-jin (born in an eulchuk year). The inscription closes with the wish that this merit reach all sentient beings, that the donors together with all beings be born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, and that all together behold the Buddha of Immeasurable Life and attain buddhahood. The painting was thus donated by the chief patron Haeong Jaseon, together with the laywoman Kim Wonsanghaeng and the court ladies Kim Cheongjeonghwa and Yi Daegakhwa, among others, for the salvation of the spirits of the late teacher Chundam Seeun, the late husband Kim Jae-ryong, and the late court lady Yu (given name partly illegible), and was painted by the chief painter Deokwol Eungnyun together with the assistant painters Sanggyu, Seonmyeong and Wangeun, as the afterimage painting — this Vulture Peak Assembly Painting — for Yeongsanjeon Hall. Though densely filled with many figures, the composition remains spacious; the bodies are rendered with stable proportions, the figures with delicate detail and strong shading, and gold ink is used throughout — features that clearly display the style of Buddhist painting at the end of the nineteenth century. It is accordingly designated as a Tangible Cultural Heritage of Seoul.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gangnam-gu, Seoul

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산