Jeseokdo Painting of Heungguksa Temple, Yeosu

In the early eighteenth century, when Heungguksa Temple was thriving and undergoing extensive renovation, the leading Buddhist painter-monk of the day, Uigyeom, was invited to lead the work, and many other painter-monks, including Geungcheok, took part in producing Buddhist paintings. The temple's Jeseokdo, a painting of Jeseok (Indra), a guardian deity in Buddhist belief, was painted during this period, and its overall colouring, composition and depiction of the attendant figures show the fine characteristics of Jeolla-do Buddhist painting of the eighteenth century. Among Korea's Sinjungdo, paintings of the guardian deities, the early Joseon examples include a Jeseokdo made in 1583 now held at Zenkakuji Temple in Japan, another Jeseokdo held at Saidaiji Temple in Japan, and a twelve-panel painting of the Twelve Guardian Deities held at the Reihokan Museum in Japan. Among later Joseon works, apart from the 1622 Sinjungdo of Hyangnimsa Temple in Suncheon, all date from the eighteenth or nineteenth century. The Jeseokdo of Heungguksa Temple can therefore be considered an early example among surviving works of this subject. It stands out both for its early date and for the excellence of its execution.

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Where it is

Region

Yeosu, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산