Samhwa Statue Portrait of Yongmunsa Temple, Namhae

This painting is a portrait of the Three Eminent Monks (samhwasang) — Jigong, Naong and Muhak — depicted together on a single scroll. At the centre of the composition, Jigong sits in the full lotus position, shown turned to reveal about seven-tenths of his face from the left, holding prayer beads in his left hand. Naong is likewise shown in the full lotus position from a seven-tenths left view, but holds no attribute. Muhak, by contrast, sits in the full lotus position shown from a seven-tenths right view, holding a monk's staff in his right hand and facing towards Jigong. Jigong wears an inner garment with a white collar, over which is a green robe, topped by a red outer robe decorated with circular medallion patterns. Naong and Muhak wear pale grey monastic robes (jangsam) with a red kasaya (monastic surplice) draped over them; Naong's kasaya is fastened with a cord knot, Muhak's with a metal clasp. The jangsam of Naong and Muhak in particular are shaded with a wash technique to give a sense of volume. The monks' faces are painted in flesh tones with outlines drawn in ink and vermilion; the upper eyelid lines are rendered in dense ink and the lower eyelid lines in fine pale ink. Their short hair is rendered with fine dense-ink lines over a pale ink wash, and the moustaches and beards are drawn in the same way. Behind the figures only a simplified cloud pattern appears, the rest of the background being omitted, and a cartouche for an inscription is placed above each figure's head. At the bottom of the painting is a plain mat bordered in indigo, and before the figures are depicted an incense table with a wood-grain pattern, an incense burner with rising flames, and a teacup. However, in-painting repairs to the ochre background behind the figures have slightly altered the outlines of their heads.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Namhae, Gyeongnam

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료