“Since March, we have closely examined painting records on the Buddhist painting and its style to confirm that the painting was created at Seoknam Temple on Mount Baekjok in Icheon City, Gyeonggi Province,” said Moon Myeong-dae, emeritus professor at Dongguk University, on Monday. “It is an artwork that would be valuable enough to be enlisted as a national treasure in academic and artistic aspect.” Ahn Hui-joon, emeritus professor at Seoul National University who also reviewed the painting, said, “It is a genuine artwork that has high value as historic record.” Prof. Moon will present a research paper on the results of his study in the “Lecture of Art History” early next month.
The repatriation of the Buddhist painting is the result of painstaking efforts by a researcher of ancient art. Joo Seung-jin, head of the Ancient Art Institute Muyuheon, was able to make the purchase of the artwork that had been kept at a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan, through prolonged persuasion. “After confirming that it was a Buddhist painting from the Joseon Dynasty, I exerted efforts for more than two years,” Joo said. “There is no future plan regarding the painting because I have only focused on its repatriation, but it will be eternally preserved in Korea for sure.”