범어사 나한전의 <석가설법도 및 십육나한도> 연구

Abstract

The in Beomeosa Temple's Nahan-jeon Hall consists of a total of seven paintings, comprising one painting of the Sakyamuni Preaching and six paintings of the Sixteen Arhats. This Buddhist artwork was created in 1905 during the modern period by the group led by Geumho YakHyo and BoEung MoonSeong. Notably, throughout the piece, one can observe scenes where modern iconography has been integrated and merged with traditional imagery. Firstly, the depiction of the Four Heavenly Kings in the Sakyamuni Preaching painting incorporates the armored images found in classical Chinese novel illustrations or prints. Secondly, all six paintings of the Sixteen Arhats depict each Arhat's asceticism and supernatural powers against the backdrop of blue-green landscape paintings and scenery of deep mountains. Thirdly, auspicious motifs such as the Daoist immortal Liu Haichan(劉海蟾) and his three-legged toad(蝦蟆), along with symbols of longevity, are actively utilized. Moreover, the painter YakHyo embraced Western shading techniques amid the wave of new changes, creating a unique style where both traditional and Western shading coexist. In the paintings, Western-style shading is evident in various elements. This includes the dramatic contrast in light and shadow used to create a three-dimensional effect in the garments of Bodhisattvas and Arhats, and the shadows under the lotus throne of the Bodhisattvas and the feet of the Four Heavenly Kings. Additionally, there is deep shading on the faces of disciples, Arhats, and the Four Heavenly Kings. Such stylistic characteristics became increasingly pronounced in the works of YakHyo, and his successors, MoonSeong and MongHwa, after 1905. Thus, the paintings of the Sakyamuni Preaching and the Sixteen Arhats are high-quality modern Buddhist paintings that beautifully portray an ideal realm. They lavishly decorate the powerful images of the Arhats with auspicious symbols of longevity and harmony against a backdrop of blue-green landscapes, while harmoniously incorporating new Western painting techniques into traditional methods.