畵僧 錦湖堂 若效의 佛畵 硏究

Abstract

Geumhodang Yakhyo(錦湖堂 若效) was a painter monk who was active from the late 19th century to early 20th century. He produced more than an hundred Buddhist paintings starting from 'Painting of the Sakyamuni Buddha Preaching' of Bongnyeong Temple in 1879 and up to 'Painting of the Sakyamuni Buddha Preaching' of Singeum Hall at Magok Temple in 1924. Indeed, this is the largest number of paintings produced compared to his contemporary painter monks such as Cheolyu, Eungseok and Chukyeon. Further, approximately 70% of his works are concentrated in the province of Chungcheong although Yakhyo's works are also found nationwide including provinces of Gyeonggi, Chungcheong, Jeolla and Gyeongsang. Since the Buddhist paintings of Chungcheong province prior to Yakhyo's activity were mainly produced by painter monks from other regions such as Uigyeom(議謙),Yuseong(有誠) and Sanggyeom(尙謙), the appearance of Yakhyo in the late 19th century is noteworthy in the history of production of Buddhist paintings in Chungcheong province. Thus, it is clear that Yakhyo is an important figure in the research of Buddhist paintings of this period. Examining from the extant works of Yakhyo, he worked as an assistant painter monk from 1878 to 1882 and after that served as a master painter monk from 1883 to 1924. During his period as a master painter, Yakhyo traveled around various regions to produce Buddhist painting works. As a result, he was able to apply preceding iconography from paintings of other regions into his own works such as 'Painting of the Nectar King(1893)' and 'Painting of the Amitabha Paradise(1893)' of Hogukjijang Temple. On the other hand, Yakhyo also established his unique iconography in paintings of the Mountain Guardian and the Pratyeka-Buddha which can be identified across his works on the same subject. Notably, a change in Yakhyo's painting style occurred around 1890. While works prior to 1890 show Yakhyo's unique style based on traditional representation of Buddhist painting, works after 1890 show that Yakhyo's style coexists with Western painting style. However, since Yakhyo's unique style which emphasizes the traditional representation is still maintained in his individual works, one can infer that western painting style identified in his later paintings belongs to other painter monks who co-produced the works with Yakhyo. After around 1900, Yakhyo as the master painter was in charge of producing all the paintings in large-scale Buddhist painting projects. It seems like Yakhyo himself mainly engaged in a few paintings and allowed other highly skilled painters such as Jeongyeon(定蓮) and Munseong(文性) to undertake the rest of work. By giving opportunities to painters skilled in Western style painting methods to actively participate in Buddhist painting projects, it is clear that Yakhyo played a crucial role in the time of shift of Buddhist painting into the modern period. As demonstrated in Yakhyo's works, a variety of styles is shown in a single work as most of Buddhist paintings are conducted as a joint work of several painter monks. However, individual painter monk's style had been defined as a school, which is understood as a group who shares and inherits a specific painting style. After the 18th century in the Joseon dynasty, the scope of painter monks' activity expanded, facilitating exchanges among painter monks. Further, painter monks produced their works under the influence of not a single master but of many different painter monks as they traveled afar or moved to nearby temples after having gained basic painting skills from their masters. Therefore, it is important to be more critical regarding the view which regards all the diverse painting styles seen in Yakhyo's painting to be of his own and defining it as the school of Yakhyo or Yakhyo's painting style.