Sansin Buddhist Painting of Beomnyunsa Temple, Tongyeong

This Sansin painting originally hung at Dosoram Hermitage, a jikmalsa (a temple under the direct administration) of Yonghwasa Temple in Tongyeong, and was later moved to its present location. At the centre of the painting, the mountain spirit (sansin) sits leaning against a tiger against a backdrop of deep mountains and valleys, holding a yellow fan shaped like a paulownia leaf, his black beard flowing in the wind. While the sansin's face is full of smiles, giving a benevolent impression, his wide-open eyes gaze straight ahead, and with the tiger's tail raised he takes on a dignified posture that seems indirectly to convey the sansin's authority in effortlessly subduing the tiger. Yellow and red are the main colours used: the yellow earthen cliff is set against the white stream flowing vigorously down the distant valley, with green leaves visible here and there around it, while in the foreground crimson and white flowers bloom on an old brown tree; overall, the dark composition is lightened and its darkness minimised through accents of white and crimson. It is also notable that the tiger's eyes are painted in gold, emphasising its significance as an auspicious creature (seosu). Unlike typical Sansin paintings, which are usually set against a backdrop of rocky mountains, old pine trees and valleys, the landscape here is almost entirely simplified, and the work is distinguished by its emphasis on the detailed depiction of the smiling sansin and the tiger he has subdued.

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Where it is

Region

Tongyeong, Gyeongnam

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료