Amitabha Altar Painting of Hwangnyeongsa Temple, Sangju

Although the surface of this painting has darkened slightly with age, it displays to good effect the realistic yet refined depiction of figures and the elongated bodily forms characteristic of the Sanggyeom school's distinctive style, making it an outstanding work even among the Buddhist paintings of the late eighteenth century. The composition is centred on Amitabha Buddha, flanked by the Eight Great Bodhisattvas, the Four Heavenly Kings and the Ten Great Disciples arranged to either side. The monk-painters who took part in producing the painting were Sanggyeom, Chang-eun, Seongyun, Kwaejeon, Beopseong, Yuhong and others; as an early work of the Sanggyeom school, centred on Sanggyeom himself, it is a valuable source for studying the influence of the Gyeonggi-do school of painting on the Gyeongbuk region. It was through the connection formed in producing this painting that the Sanggyeom school later produced the gwaebul (a huge Buddhist painting hung outdoors for large ceremonies) and the Sixteen Arhats painting of Namjangsa Temple. Hwangnyeongsa Temple is a temple that protected the nation, having served as a base for the righteous army raised during the Imjin War (the Japanese invasions of 1592-98). Because of this it suffered the calamity of being burned down, and was later rebuilt in 1966 by the abbot Sangho.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Sangju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산