Inscribed "Geonyang2nyeon" Guardian Deities Painting of Yongmunsa Temple, Namhae

In the lower centre of the picture, twelve guardian deity figures are arranged around Witaecheon (Skanda), while the upper section places Beomcheon (Brahma) and Jeseokcheon (Indra) to left and right, surrounded by heavenly maidens, heavenly boys and the rest of their retinue. The colours used are mainly white and red, with green and blue also employed. The flesh areas of Witaecheon, Beomcheon and Jeseokcheon are painted in white tinged slightly with red to give a pink tone, with pale ink used in places for shading and the contours drawn in ink line. Witaecheon wears armour and a winged helmet, with a leopard-patterned pelt draped over the armour; the pelt is rendered by applying a pale brown base and then adding a leopard-hide pattern in pale ink, bordered at the edges by thin white and black lines. Beomcheon and Jeseokcheon are dressed in the robes of heavenly beings, each with a heavenly scarf, green for one and blue for the other, draped over the shoulder. In rendering the clothing, the mogolbeop technique — a boneless method using washes of colour rather than ink outlines — is used to depict patterns, folds and knots, giving a sense of volume. The bead ornaments in the lower section and on the armour are also painted with pigment applied thickly, like actual beads, to create a three-dimensional effect. Although this work is currently in a somewhat poor state of preservation, it was made in the second year of the Geonyang era (1897). As a nineteenth-century Guardian Deities painting it is relatively large (194.5cm high by 213.5cm wide), many people were involved in its production, and it shows notable artistic quality, and has accordingly been designated a Cultural Heritage Material.

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Where it is

Region

Namhae, Gyeongnam

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료