Anseongbeopgyesa Temple Guardian Deities Painting

A sinjungdo is a Buddhist painting depicting the host of heavenly guardian deities who protect the Buddha's teachings and extend their protection to believers as well. The Guardian Deities Painting at Anseong Beopgyesa Temple was originally produced in 1874, the eleventh year of Emperor Gojong, at Anseong Cheongnyongsa Temple. It was painted together with a Yeongsanhoesangdo (a painting of the Buddha's assembly on Vulture Peak) during the regilding (gaegeum) of the Amitabha Buddha, the Buddha triad, Avalokitesvara (Gwaneum) and Kshitigarbha (Jijang) statues, and was enshrined in the Gwaneumjeon Hall. It was painted by the monk-painters Hanbong Changyeop, Chunman and Seonhwa. The lead painter, Hanbong Changyeop, worked alongside Geumgok Yeonghwan and was active across Seoul, Gyeonggi, Gangwon and Chungcheong from the 1850s to the late nineteenth century. The painting divides the picture plane into two registers to form an inverted-triangle composition: Brahma and Indra occupy the upper half, and Skanda (Witaecheon) the lower. In the upper register, Brahma, holding a white lotus in both hands, and Indra, with palms joined, are flanked by the sun and moon deities, a jewelled banner, celestial maidens bearing heavenly fruit, and child attendants playing musical instruments. The lower register is filled, at its centre, with Skanda wearing a helmet with upturned wing-feathers, surrounded on both sides by the Eight Classes of Divine Guardians (cheollyong palbujung) shown in an array of different helmets. This composition — an inverted triangle centred on the main deities yet giving visual emphasis to Skanda — is typical of guardian-deity paintings of the late nineteenth century. The overall palette is dominated by red, harmonised with touches of green and blue, and gold pigment is used sparingly for decorative effect. Shading applied to the faces of the guardian deities and the densely filled composition reflect the stylistic conventions of late Joseon Buddhist painting.

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Where it is

Region

Anseong, Gyeonggi

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료