Daeungjeon Hall Guardian Deities Painting of Anyangam Hermitage

This Guardian Deities Painting (sinjungdo), now hung beside the Palsangdo (Eight Scenes from the Buddha's Life) painting on the left of the altar in the Daeungjeon Hall of Anyangam Hermitage, was made in 1924 by Gosandang Chukyeon, ranked among the finest monk-painters of his day, together with his pupils Boeungdang Munseong and Haksong. Monk Gosan was active mainly around Geumgangsan Mountain in his younger years, but in his later career he and the monk Cheolyu are regarded as the twin masters of Buddhist painting production in the Seoul and Gyeonggi region. The composition places Daeyejeokgeumgang large at the centre of the painting, dividing the field to either side: on the left are Jeseok (Indra), Beomcheon (Brahma), the Sun Palace Deity, the Moon Palace Deity, Byeonjaecheonwang, the Eastern Heavenly King, the Northern Heavenly King, five heavenly maidens and two heavenly boys; on the right, centred on Witaecheon (Skanda), are the Dragon King, the Mountain God, Gongdeokcheonwang, the Southern Heavenly King, the Western Heavenly King, the Kitchen God, the Guardian of the Ritual Site, an Armoured Deity, and two heavenly boys. Unlike the usual iconography of guardian-deity paintings, this work is distinctive in portraying Jeseok, Beomcheon and Witaecheon as if they were attendants flanking Daeyejeokgeumgang. This compositional type of guardian-deity painting was devised by the monk Chukyeon himself and first appeared in the Seoul and Gyeonggi region in the late 19th to early 20th century. The same style can be found in the Guardian Deities Painting of Yongjusa Temple in Hwaseong and the Guardian Deities Painting of Bomunsa Temple on Ganghwado Island. The faces and bodies of the guardian deities in this painting also employ a modern technique of shading, a technique that is rarely seen in Buddhist paintings of the same period from Jeolla and Gyeongsang provinces and appears only in the Seoul and Gyeonggi region, showing the progression from traditional to modern Buddhist painting.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료