完州 松廣寺 나한전의 제 존상과 조각승

Abstract

A written prayer engraved on the Śākyamuni statue enshrined in Songgwang-sa Temple reveals that the 500 or more statues of the Buddhas of the Three Periods (Kāsyapa, Śākyamuni, and Maitreya), Sixteen Arhats, Five Hundred Arhats, Indras, Messengers, Dragon Girls and Generals enshrined in Nahan-jeon Hall of Songgwang-sa Temple in Wanju were carved by a group of thirty monk-sculptors including Muyeom and completed in 1656. The involvement of such a large group of artists in the of hundreds of sculptural works inevitably resulted in the display of slight differences in sculptural style. In this study the style is analyzed on the basis of the detailed carving techniques ussed by the monk-sculptors recorded in the written prayer, which identifies some of the artists who participated in the carving of the Buddha Triad and the Sixteen Arhats. According to the analyses of the religious statues in Nahan-jeon Hall of Songgwang-sa Temple, the principal Buddha, Śākyamuni, and his Left Acolyte were carved by sculptors of the Muyeom School, the Right Acolyte and the First Venerable Monk by Daneung, and the Third Venerable Monk by Seongsun, who is believed to have been related with the Beopryeong School. The study also shows that the project to create and enshrine religious statues in Nahan-jeon Hall was conducted not by sculptors of the Muyeom School alone but rather as a collaborative effort involving several art schools led by Muyeom, Daneung, Cheonsin, and Sain among others. It is probable that the collaboration between artists from different schools was made possible by the participation of Byeogam Gakseong, a highly influential monk at that time. A closer look at the statues in connection with the written prayer suggests that Dogyun belonged to the Muyeom School, while Gyehun and Hyeonjun, who occupying a higher position than the head monk-sculptor, were closely related with Muyeom. The two names, Sain (思印) and Sain (思忍), refer to two different artists although they are pronounced exactly the same way in Korean, as both appear in the written prayer. It is probable that the first, Sain (思印), was a member of the Hyeonjin School, while the second, Sain (思忍), was a member of the Suyeon School. Daneung, the eleventh name on the list of thirty sculptors, was probably given the task of carving the Right Acolyte Bodhisattva in the Buddha Triad because he was a highly skilled sculptor. An analysis of the style of his work shows that he had established his own artistic style by the time he participated in the Nahan-jeon project. The list of participants in the project (contained in the written prayer) includes Sameung and Jisu of the Seungil School and Cheonsin of the Eungwon-Ingyun School, but little is known about the part they played in the project.