A Study on Angels' Costumes in Religious Paintings (종교화에 나타난 천사의 복식에 관한 연구)
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- Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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- v.3 no.1
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- pp.1-11
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- 1979
This is a study on angels' costumes in religious paintings, especially as this relates to the questions of concepts and theological symbolism. Angels, as spiritual creatures in Christian thought, play the role of praising God's glory, as messengers of God, the role of guarding Israel and the Church, and protecting or punishing human beings. Sometimes the angels appear in incarnate form. They display no sexual differences and are not able to procreate. The angels' funtional classification being thus; nevertheless, they are pictured in various costumes and appearances according to characteristics of the paintings. The angel Michael appears as a man of dignity when pictured as a guard; the angel Gabriel in the annunciation is often portrayed as a woman of mystical beauty. Under the Renaissance, the mighty cherubim and seraphim at Yahweh's throne are degraded as plump child-angels, or winged child-heads looking alike Eros or Cupid. They have become playful and all too obviously non-heavenly chrubs, accepted features of the Temple decorations. However, cherubim are often depicted as naked or wrapped around with a piece of cloth and accompanied with wind, which symbolizes the Glory of God. The angels, costumes without seam are hung over or wrapped around the body, and when sewn they are simple and ample enough that they fall in a great many folds. However, by the 14C. angels are mostly dressed in costumes common to all Europe, and after that angels gradually appear in folk costumes; for example Italian, Flemish, etc. Dalmatic, the typical costume of Byzantine often shows up as angels' dresses even after the period. Originally the dalmatic was the Roman tunic to which Eastern influences added. The Roman clavus on the tunic had gradually lost distinction until, by the Imperial epoch, it was worn by the lowest servants. It was proudly therefore, as 'The servants of God', that the early Christians are shown wearing the clavus on their wide, ungirdled, sleeved dalmatics. In addition to their costume, angels have some other distinct charateristics. First, angels have a halo around their head; this symbolizes their holiness. Second, angels wear a narrow diadem or a queen's crown that seems to denote their glorious status close to God's throne. Third, the cloth band across the breast resembles a priest's stole, which suggests the sacred role of a priest and symbolizes the grace santified. Fourth, lilies in the annunciations are symbols of Mary's virginity. chastity, innocence and heavenly bliss. Angels hold palms or olives in their hands. The former denote prosperity. beauty and the Christians' reward after death; the latter represent peace and amity. the imperial crown made of olives means victory. Fifth, angels in paintings always have a pair of wings, which can be traced to scripture where cherubim and seraphim are described as having pairs of wings. Angels' wings often have colors of the rainbow, and the rainbow is compared to God's glory. Sixth, generally artists paint angels' costumes as white, blue, green, gold and purple. Other colors such as red rarely appear. According, to scriptures it is believed that angels should be depicted 'as white as snow'. According to the biblical expressions of angels as lightning, sun or a pillar of fire, angels should be described as creatures of light. Nevertheless being a form of art, religious paintings may differ in their presentation according to an artist's inspiration and intention. Since religious paintings illustrated above were almost all done before the Reformation, symbols of colors used in the Catholic Church will also be mentioned. The white color symbolizes chastity, purity, brightness, delight and divinity. Green represents new birth, eternal life, spiritual revival and the expectance of the grace of God. Blue, the color of sapphires, denotes chastity and truth. Red, the color of rubies, represents divinity, love and religious passion. Violet is the color of dignity, indicating the sovereign, royal or imperial power and the great Sacrifice of Christ. As mentionad above, angels' costumes were expressed in accordance with contemporary patterns or as indicated in the Bible, and accesories and colors correspond with Christian symbols. Therefore these facts should be taken into consideration when it comes to the study of costume history.
The overall study of Samsaebulhoedo (painting of the Assembly of Buddhas of Three Ages) at Yongjusa Temple has focused on dating it, analyzing the painting style, identifying its painter, and scrutinizing the related documents. However, its greater coherence could be achieved through additional support from empirical evidence and logical consistency. Recent studies on Samsaebulhoedo at Yongjusa Temple that postulate that the painting could have been produced by a monk-painter in the late nineteenth century and that an original version produced in 1790 could have been retouched by a painter in the 1920s using a Western painting style lack such empirical proof and logic. Although King Jeongjo's son was not yet installed as crown prince, the Samsaebulhoedo at Yongjusa Temple contained a conventional written prayer wishing for a long life for the king, queen, and crown prince: "May his majesty the King live long / May her majesty the Queen live long / May his highness the Crown Prince live long" (主上殿下壽萬歲, 王妃殿下壽萬歲, 世子邸下壽萬歲). Later, this phrase was erased using cinnabar and revised to include unusual content in an exceptional order: "May his majesty the King live long / May his highness the King's Affectionate Mother (Jagung) live long / May her majesty the Queen live long / May his highness the Crown Prince live long" (主上殿下壽萬歲, 慈宮邸下壽萬歲, 王妃殿下壽萬歲, 世子邸下壽萬歲). A comprehensive comparison of the formats and contents in written prayers found on late Joseon Buddhist paintings and a careful analysis of royal liturgy during the reign of King Jeongjo reveal Samsaebulhoedo at Yongjusa Temple to be an original version produced at the time of the founding of Yongjusa Temple in 1790. According to a comparative analysis of formats, iconography, styles, aesthetic sensibilities, and techniques found in Buddhist paintings and paintings by Joseon court painters from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Samsaebulhoedo at Yongjusa Temple bears features characteristic of paintings produced around 1790, which corresponds to the result of analysis on the written prayer. Buddhist paintings created up to the early eighteenth century show deities with their sizes determined by their religious status and a two-dimensional conceptual composition based on the traditional perspective of depicting close objects in the lower section and distant objects above. This Samsaebulhoedo, however, systematically places the Buddhist deities within a threedimensional space constructed by applying a linear perspective. Through the extensive employment of chiaroscuro as found in Western painting, it expresses white highlights and shadows, evoking a feeling that the magnificent world of the Buddhas of the Three Ages actually unfolds in front of viewers. Since the inner order of a linear perspective and the outer illusion of chiaroscuro shading are intimately related to each other, it is difficult to believe that the white highlights were a later addition. Moreover, the creative convergence of highly-developed Western painting style and techniques that is on display in this Samsaebulhoedo could only have been achieved by late-Joseon court painters working during the reign of King Jeongjo, including Kim Hongdo, Yi Myeong-gi, and Kim Deuksin. Deungun, the head monk of Yongjusa Temple, wrote Yongjusa sajeok (History of Yongjusa Temple) by compiling the historical records on the temple that had been transmitted since its founding. In Yongjusa sajeok, Deungun recorded that Kim Hongdo painted Samsaebulhoedo as if it were a historical fact. The Joseon royal court's official records, Ilseongnok (Daily Records of the Royal Court and Important Officials) and Suwonbu jiryeong deungnok (Suwon Construction Records), indicate that Kim Hongdo, Yi Myeong-gi, and Kim Deuksin all served as a supervisor (gamdong) for the production of Buddhist paintings. Since within Joseon's hierarchical administrative system it was considered improper to allow court painters of government position to create Buddhist paintings which had previously been produced by monk-painters, they were appointed as gamdong in name only to avoid a political liability. In reality, court painters were ordered to create Buddhist paintings. During their reigns, King Yeongjo and King Jeongjo summoned the literati painters Jo Yeongseok and Kang Sehwang to serve as gamdong for the production of royal portraits and requested that they paint these portraits as well. Thus, the boundary between the concept of supervision and that of painting occasionally blurred. Supervision did not completely preclude painting, and a gamdong could also serve as a painter. In this light, the historical records in Yongjusa sajeok are not inconsistent with those in Ilseongnok, Suwonbu jiryeong deungnok, and a prayer written by Hwang Deok-sun, which was found inside the canopy in Daeungjeon Hall at Yongjusa Temple. These records provided the same content in different forms as required for their purposes and according to the context. This approach to the Samsaebulhoedo at Yongjusa Temple will lead to a more coherent explanation of dating the painting, analyzing its style, identifying its painter, and interpreting the relevant documents based on empirical grounds and logical consistency.