Won Deokmun

SOUTH KOREA

A Korean monk and artist, Won Deokmun was a disciple of Master Wanho Yun’u at Beomeosa Temple in South Gyeongsang. At the age of 13, he renounced and began studying Buddhist painting and Buddhist sculpture. Won later studied Western fine arts in Japan at age 40. However, after returning to Korea, he promoted the traditional style of Buddhist painting. In addition, he specialized in the art of dancheong, a style of decorative painting on buildings and artifacts.
Won became the first certified painter with the status of “dancheongjang” (artist of dancheong) in 1972. In his old age, he stayed at Heungcheonsa Temple in Seoul and created several works of art. His extant paintings include three murals in the Hall of the Three Sages at Imjeongsa Temple, as well as the mural behind Sakyamuni Buddha in the Great Hero Hall, and a Forty-Two-Armed Avalokitesvara at Dodeoksa Temple.