Inscribed "Geonyang2nyeon" Lone Arhat Buddhist Painting of Yongmunsa Temple, Namhae

The composition sets Dokseong, the Lone Arhat, before a single old pine tree against the backdrop of a great rocky mountain. In detail, a rocky peak fills the picture, with an old pine before it, a sun and a bird, a mountain stream, and to one side beautifully arranged flowers and drifting cloud-mist, together creating a fantastical scene of deep mountains and valleys. On a flat rock ledge extending from the mountain, Dokseong sits with his legs spread to either side, having pushed aside the book and incense burner on his low table, absorbed in deep contemplation and depicted in a relaxed, leisurely manner. His right arm is propped on the ground to support his body, while his left wrist bears two strings of prayer beads (danju), his hand also gripping a thick string of beads painted with a wood-grain pattern. Looking more closely, his head, bulging like that of the God of Longevity, is washed in red; his face and skin are painted in pale brown with the outline drawn in red, and faint shading in a tone matching the skin is applied in places around the forehead, eye sockets and beneath the chin. His drooping white eyebrows and the beard beneath his chin are painted white; his crescent-shaped eyes have the upper lid line drawn in ink, with only the tip of the lower lid shown at the outer corner, and the pupils are painted brown with an ink outline. Dokseong bares his upper body beneath a red kasaya robe edged in black. The red kasaya is decorated with circular medallions containing a grass motif, and its folds are drawn in ink. The landscape behind him is painted in a yellowish green, with the mountain's texture strokes drawn in ink and white dots added on top for decorative effect. The old pine rising to Dokseong's left forms a round arch, curving over his head; it is painted brown and overpainted in red, with dotted marks outlined once in ink to convey the texture of the wood. The fan-shaped pine needles, the blue bird beneath the red sun, the cloud-mist wreathing the pine branches, and the falling waterfall recall a scene from a folk painting (minhwa) of the nineteenth century or later, and the rendering of the landscape is a particular strength of this work.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Namhae, Gyeongnam

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료