17세기 전반 曹溪山 松廣寺와 彫刻僧: 覺敏, 應元, 印均

Abstract

The 17th century was a crucial era for history of Buddhist sculptures of Joseon Dynasty. Buddhist temples were demolished by the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592, and most of them were restored during this period along with addition of a large number of Buddhist statues. It is basically caused by this historical fact that Buddhist statues created in the early 17th century are enshrined in Songgwang-sa temple, which is located at Suncheon-si of Jeollanam-do. This paper comprises of observation on three monk sculptors, Gakmin, Eungwon and Ingyun, who were involved in restoration of Songgwang-sa temple and the Buddhist statues they created. The earliest example of Buddhist statues enshrined in Songgwang-sa temple is ‘Vairocana Triad Statues‘ created in 1614. Monk sculptor Gakmin, who created this statue, belonged to a group of monk sculptors that included Wono, Haengsa, Cheongheo, and others. This group is thought to have worked mainly throughout the eastern region of Jeollanam-do. The Buddha Statues of Three Generations and Statues of 16 Shakyamuni´s Disciples and Amitabha Statue are all the works by Eungwon and Ingyun in 1624, who are the main monk sculptors of the Eungwon group that arose throughout the Jeollanam-do area in the early 17th century. Their creations are set apart by voluminous faces and hands and wave-like and elegant creases in fabrics. In addition to the Wono group and Eungwon group, it has also been revealed that numerous other monk sculptors Muyeom, Beophae and Deokgi with varying styles worked on the Songgwang-sa temple in the early 17th century. Being the largest temple of the Jeolla-do region, restoration of the temple after the Japanese invasion of 1592 took a long time to finish and required the involvement of many monk sculptors from the region, which led to a stylistic exchange among them.