신라 중대 조각사에서 석굴암의 양식적 특징과 위상 = A Reassessment of the Construction of Seokguram Grotto and its Statues in the History of Silla Sculpture

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This paper aims to revisit the date of their creation through a stylistic analysis of the Seokguram sculptures. By examining Old Silla and Middle Silla sculptures, as well as Indian and East Asian ones, it identifies the stylistic characteristics of stone sculptures to shed light on the prototype of Seokguram. Seokguram is considered a perfectly planned monumental creation. So the overall architectural design and spatial concept are thought to have been established at first and then executed in the mid-8th century.
The whole plan seems to have covered the making and enshrining of the main Buddha and the surrounding relief sculptures. The creation of Seokguram and the production of sculptures were inseparable. So, it is unreasonable to discuss the date of its creation based on the stylistic characteristics of some sculptures in Seokguram. Accumulating carving methods and styles since Silla's unification of the Three Kingdoms, Seokguram could have reached the highest point of Silla sculpture. In Silla, the last among the Three Kingdoms to embrace Buddhism, stone sculptures like Seokguram carvings could not be made without many years of technical skills and sculptural training. Such artistic achievement can only be reached through developing a concrete understanding of three-dimensional objects and the will to envision ideal beauty. Compared to the other sculptures such as the sculpture of the foursided Buddha images in the Gulbulsa-ji and various stone carvings in Mount Nam (Namsan), the main Buddha of Seokguram and the reliefs on its walls could have been the results of various sculptural experiments. In this sense, the sculptures in Seokguram are the culmination of the artistic achievements in the Silla period, based on their mastery of technique. The main Buddha of Seokguram does not show the exact same stylistic characteristics that many Chinese sculptures in the High-Tang period had. To clarify the non- Chinese elements in the main Buddha of Seokguram, it needs to consider various circumstances. The principles of construction, the carving techniques of the main Buddha and reliefs, and the layout plans should be examined simultaneously to find ways to get closer to the original project of the Seokguram grotto.