Haeinsa Temple Gugiram Hermitage Master Byeogam Portrait, Hapcheon

The portrait of the Venerable Byeogam held at Gugiram Hermitage clearly displays the stylistic characteristics typical of monk portraits from the late 18th century. It shows the Venerable Byeogam alone, seated on a chair facing right in the centre of the picture; the diagonal composition lends a sense of movement to an otherwise static image. His face, dignified yet kindly, is shown with his right hand lowered onto his knee, the index finger raised for variation, while his left hand rests on the arm of the chair, holding a bulja — a Buddhist ceremonial whisk — slung over his left shoulder. The long robe (jangsam), a mixture of tawny brown and green, contrasts cleanly with the white inner collar and cuffs; raised green outlines are used throughout to render the folds and patterns of the garment. Tied over the left shoulder is a bright crimson kasaya, a monk's ceremonial robe, lavishly decorated with gold patterns. The red ground of the chair-back is ornamented with cloud motifs together with ring-shaped roundels and diamond patterns, while the border is surrounded by an elaborate floral design, introducing variation into what would otherwise be a stiff and heavy atmosphere. Unlike the figure's seated posture, which faces right on a diagonal, the chair's front and back legs are given no difference in length and are placed, somewhat inconsistently with perspective, all on the same horizontal line — a touch that betrays a certain lack of skill in the rendering. The background of the painting is composed, as is typical of seated-figure portraits of this kind, of a floor of patterned rush matting (hwamunseok) and a wall forming the pictorial space; in the upper right-hand corner is written the title, "True Portrait of the Venerable Byeogam, Royally Granted the Title Foremost Great Chan Master of the Realm."

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Where it is

Region

Hapcheon, Gyeongnam

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산