Amitabha Buldo Painting of Suguksa Temple

This is a huebulhwa — a painting hung behind the main Buddha image on an altar — depicting Amitabha and his retinue, made in 1907 by the master craftsmen (pyeonsu) Boam Geungbeop and Duheum and the gold-line master painters (geumeo) Bonggam, Beobyeon and Beomcheon. The chief patrons Gang Munhwan and Gang Jaehui, acting on imperial command, commissioned it to pray for the boundless long life of the Emperor, the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess, Royal Noble Consort Eom, Prince Uihwa and his consort, and Crown Prince Yeong. The composition is filled with Amitabha at the centre, surrounded by the Eight Great Bodhisattvas, the Ten Great Disciples, the Four Heavenly Kings, the Eight Classes of Divine Beings (palbujung) and heavenly beings. Amitabha sits in full lotus position on a blue lotus pedestal atop a Sumeru-shaped base, forming the lower-grade-rebirth mudra (hapum jungsaeng-in). The oval face, with its thin eyebrows and eyes, narrow mouth and high, prominent cranial protuberance (ushnisha), is distinctive. The broad-shouldered body appears both sturdy and grand; the red robe is patterned with circular floral roundels, and the collar is decorated with lavish lotus designs. The interior of the halo is finished in gold leaf, giving the impression that golden light is radiating from the Buddha's body. To Amitabha's left and right are eight bodhisattvas, including Avalokiteshvara and Mahasthamaprapta; apart from these two, the other bodhisattvas are shown standing. Avalokiteshvara and Mahasthamaprapta wear crowns depicting a manifestation buddha and a reliquary bottle, and sit with one knee raised and a hand resting easily, each bearing a golden halo like the main Buddha's, marking them as the two flanking attendants. Facing each other at the bottom centre of the picture are Manjusri and Samantabhadra, holding a wish-granting jewel and a white lotus respectively; the remaining bodhisattvas stand with their upper bodies bared toward the main Buddha, hands joined in prayer. Notably, Kshitigarbha does not appear among the eight bodhisattvas. With their large crowns and lavish celestial scarves, the bodhisattvas, together with Amitabha, present a very splendid appearance. Above the bodhisattvas are the Ten Great Disciples, including Ananda and Mahakasyapa, shown from the waist up with hands joined in prayer or holding a water bottle or a wish-granting jewel. Unlike the uniformly coloured Buddha and bodhisattva figures, shading is applied around their outlines, giving a three-dimensional, realistic effect. To either side of the disciples are the Dragon King holding a dragon horn, the Dragon Girl bearing a tray of offerings including pomegranates, the Eight Classes of Divine Beings wearing lion and elephant crowns, and Vajra guardian deities. At the bottom of the picture the Four Heavenly Kings are shown full-length: on the left, kings holding a pipa (lute) and a sword; on the right, kings holding a banner and a pagoda. Their bodies are somewhat short, but they wear abdominal armour decorated with goblin-mask and beast-mask patterns, and their gold-patterned armour looks very splendid, even ornate. The colouring is dominated by red, green, white, blue and gold; gold leaf and gold ink are used lavishly, including inside the halos of the Amitabha triad and on the robes of the attendant figures. A near-primary blue is also used, applied appropriately to parts of the main Buddha's lotus pedestal and the robes of the Four Heavenly Kings, harmonising well with the other colours. The gold-ink patterns on the attendants' robes are likewise varied and splendid. The brushwork uses the even, wire-like cheolseonmyo line technique for a stable touch, while shading is applied inside the outlines of the disciples and the Four Heavenly Kings to emphasise volume. The dedicatory inscription (hwagi) is written not at the bottom centre of the picture but along its left and right edges. On the left is written the prayer for the reigning sovereign's long life and other votive wishes; on the right are listed the monks who assisted in the painting's production and the donors. According to the inscription, on 7 February 1907 Suguksa Temple produced and enshrined a total of thirteen Buddhist paintings — the upper-altar painting of Daeungjeon Hall, and, for Daeryo Hall, an upper-altar painting, a Yeongsan painting, a Dokseong painting, a Chilseong painting, a Guppum painting, a middle-altar painting, a Gamno painting, a Sansin painting, two Sinjung paintings, a Hyeonwang painting and a Jowang painting — but today only six survive: this Amitabha huebulhwa, a Sixteen Arhats painting, a Guppum painting, a Gamno painting, a Sinjung painting and a Hyeonwang painting. This painting therefore appears to have been made as the upper-altar painting of Daeryo Hall. This painting is a representative example of a royal court-commissioned Buddhist painting from the final years of the Korean Empire. Overall, it stands out for its stable, well-balanced composition, its varied and splendid patterns and its skilful, delicate brushwork, and it is a work in whose making the leading Buddhist painter-monks active in Seoul at the end of the Korean Empire — Boam Geungbeop, Duheum and Bonggam — took part.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산