Yangsan Tongdosa Temple Geungnagamchilseong Fortress Buddhist Painting

At the centre of the painting, against a blue sky, the Buddha Chiseonggwang (the Buddha of the Pole Star) sits on a lotus throne rising out of the clouds, flanked by the standing bodhisattvas Wolgwang (Moonlight) and Ilgwang (Sunlight); to either side of the Buddha's halo, the Daoist deities Taesang-nogun and Gaedeok-jingun are placed in symmetrical arrangement. This work, made up of nine panels forming a single set, is dominated by red, green, ultramarine, yellow and white, with gold leaf applied to the ornaments of the crowns and ritual tablets, the decorations trailing down below the knees, and the hair-ties of the star deities, adding to its splendour. This chilseong-taeng — a Buddhist painting of the Seven Stars — is an outstanding and complete example of the genre, comprising nine figures in all: the Buddha Chiseonggwang as the principal deity, Jami-daeje together with the Samtae-yukseong (Six Stars of the Three Steps), and the seven Chilwon-seonggun (Seven Star Lords of the Northern Dipper). The production record does not list the names of the monks who took part in the work, such as the verifying monk, the chanting monk or the master painter; it records only prayers for the peace and long life of the royal family. As with works traditionally made for the royal court, where painters did not dare sign their names, it appears that for this reason the names of those involved were left unrecorded.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yangsan, Gyeongnam

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산