Painting of the Lone Arhat of Jingwansa Temple

This painting of the Lone Arhat (dokseongdo) depicts Dokseong, the Lone Arhat, together with an attendant and a boy acolyte against a landscape background in the style of folk painting, set on a long horizontal canvas; at over 2m wide, it counts as a large-scale work. The painting was made in 1907 by the monk-painter Gyeongseondang Eungseok, who was active in the Gyeonggi-do region from the late 19th to the early 20th century, through the sponsorship of Hong Sun-mo and Court Lady Yi. Orange is the dominant colour, with indigo and green used as secondary tones, and overall the colouring is somewhat muted. At the centre of the composition an elderly monk sits facing forward, with an attendant and a boy acolyte standing in attendance to either side. The elderly monk is Naban-jonja, one of the Buddha's disciples and one of the Sixteen Arhats; he is depicted wearing robes coloured in scarlet and blue, holding a seokjang, a ringed staff carried by Buddhist monks, in his left hand, seated with one knee raised, portrayed as a white-haired old monk. The background appears to depict Cheontaesan Mountain in South India, where Naban-jonja was said to dwell; in particular, the blue-green pines and mountains painted at the left edge of the composition are a motif often found in folk paintings. Although produced as late as 1907, the work is fluid in brushwork throughout and of considerable artistic merit. Its state of preservation is also good.

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Where it is

Region

Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료