What do Goryeo buddhist paintings tell us about Goryeo people?

By Lou Morrison

A quick survey of the 133 extant paintings of the Goryeo Kingdom (936-1332) discloses a seemingly pre-occupation of the afterlife and how to arrive there in proper Buddhist fashion. Of these 133 paintings, 110 depict the Western Paradise (Buddhist heaven) as a landscape; ``Amitabul’’ (Amida, Lord of the Western Paradise) arriving with the bodhisattvas ``Guanseum’’ (Avalokitesvara) and ``Taeseji’’ (Mahasthamaprapta) to accompany the believer to this paradise; Guanseum alone, usually in the transformation of this bodhisattva as regent of the island Potala; and Jijang (Ksitigarbha), the bodhisattva who succors those in hell. Were the people of the Goryeo Kingdom, then, obsessed with their post-mortem fates?

In fact, this would be an over-simplified conclusion based on visual evidence alone. Who were the people we refer to? All of the surviving Buddhist paintings of the Goryeo Kingdom are crafted by the most highly-

skilled artisans, monk painters trained in clerical studios, utilizing materials ― including gold and silver paint ― that could only be afforded by royal or aristocratic commissions. The line and figural drawings and coloration represent the apogee of Korean Buddhist painting, combining a high-Tang naturalism in volume and the fall and fold of cloth with highly idealized characterizations, and a high refinement of technique. A thin base-coat of lead, which saturates the silk to provide a resilient surface, is applied in the shape of the bodies, on which is applied with the minutest detailed jewels, medallions, robes, flesh, facial features, and even translucent veils. In view of the elevated quality and cost of these paintings, it is unlikely ``the people of the Goryeo,’’ beyond the most wealthy, saw them at all. The commoners’ exposure to Buddhism for the most part entailed participation in large-scale national protection and repentance festivals. The paintings that represent Goryeo Buddhism in the present were commodities of an elite and exclusive cultural milieu.