Yeongsanjeon Hall Guardian Deities Painting of Bongeunsa Temple

This Guardian Deities painting (Sinjungdo) was produced in 1895 together with the Vulture Peak Assembly painting (Yeongsanhoesangdo), four Arhat paintings (Nahando) and one Messenger painting (Sajado, depicting afterlife messengers) of the Yeongsanjeon Hall. It is a colour painting on cotton measuring 121.8cm in height and 166.5cm in width, painted by the chief craftsman Sanggyu and the master painter-monks Beomhwa, Sangseon and Unjo. Fewer painter-monks took part in this work than in the other Buddhist paintings enshrined together in the Yeongsanjeon Hall, because the painting itself is relatively small in scale. Witaecheon, a guardian deity wearing a helmet shaped like a bird's wings, is placed at the centre of the composition, flanked by Brahma and Indra; to either side of them are the deva of the Sun Palace and the deva of the Moon Palace together with their heavenly attendants, while across the lower register stand six large guardian generals holding swords. The overall composition is centred on Witaecheon and the eight kinds of heavenly beings who protect the Buddhist teachings. Witaecheon wears a splendid bird-wing-shaped helmet painted in gold and holds a weapon before his chest with both hands; his round, youthful face has an unusually fleshy chin that makes it look somewhat overweight. Brahma and Indra, shown beside him wearing crowns and red robes with their hands joined and turned towards Witaecheon, appear almost like his attendants. Beside them are the deva of the Sun Palace and the deva of the Moon Palace, wearing crowns marked with sun and moon emblems, together with boy and heavenly-maiden attendants. The eight guardian generals standing in a row at the bottom grip their swords with both hands, lips firmly closed, in dignified poses. They wear red robes and a variety of headgear - crowns, helmets and hoods - but although their upper bodies are sturdy and imposing, their lower bodies appear somewhat slight by comparison. Red is the dominant colour, used together with green, blue, white, flesh tones and yellow. The extensive use of blue on the robes and weapons gives a slightly less refined effect, while gold applied in places to the armour, helmets and weapons lends the painting a splendid air. Sanggyu and Beomhwa, who painted this work, also took part in Buddhist projects at Cheongnyongsa Temple in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The dedicatory inscription records that the painting was enshrined in the Yeongsanjeon Hall of Bongeunsa Temple on Sudosan Mountain, and lists those involved in its production: the certifying monk Seolbong, the chanting monk Yeongju, the hall keeper Taehwan, the chief craftsman Sanggyu, the master painters Beomhwa, Sangseon and Unjo, the fundraising monk Haeong, and the donors - the nuns Bongjeok, Myojeong and Buhong, together with Buyeong, Myohap, Chihae and Lady Yi, born in the gi-yu year. Produced in 1895 alongside the other paintings of the Yeongsanjeon Hall, this painting shows a somewhat formulaic treatment of its figures but is a good example of late nineteenth-century Buddhist painting style in its prominent use of red and its use of blue and gold outlining, and it is accordingly designated as Seoul Cultural Heritage Material.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gangnam-gu, Seoul

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료