Namjangsa Gamrowangdo, Sangju

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.1641

Category

Painting

Era

1701년

Designated year

2010

Location

김천시, 경상북도— 경상북도 김천시 직지사길 95 (대항면) 직지사성보박물관

Coordinates

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This painting dating from 1701, by Takhwi and several other monk painters is the oldest 18th-century painting on the theme of the King of Sweet Dew. Each scene is accompanied by a descriptive title, very helpful for iconographical understanding of this painting. The brushstrokes are elegant, and the bright color tone with pink and yellow as dominant colors, coupled with the use of gold in profuse amount, gives the painting brilliance and splendor. The space is divided into three levels. The top level features the Seven Buddhas, Bodhisattva King Illo (Yinlu in Chinese), Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, and the middle level is occupied by the scene of monks holding a rite in front of an altar. Finally, the bottom level shows various scenes involving dead souls, arranged in an orderly fashion. The composition of this Sweet Dew painting later became the prototype for 18th-century Buddhist paintings on the same theme. The Namjangsa Temple painting not only offers precious windows into the history and evolution of Sweet Dew paintings made in the Joseon Period, but is also remarkable for the quality of execution displayed in the many iconographic elements composing it.