The Hanging Painting of Vairocana in Daeryeonsa Temple was produced in 1750 by a group of four monk-painters including Chungmyeong and Sahye. The painting depicts the Vairocana Buddha flanked by four attendants, namely the bodhisattvas Manjusri and Samantabhadra, and his two leading disciples, Ananda and Kasyapa. Most of the painters who participated in the production of this altar painting also collaborated in the production of the paintings of the Buddhas of the Three Realms at Gwangdeoksa Temple in Cheonan, as shown by the Buddha’s comparatively narrow shoulders, pointed topknot, round and benign face, and elongated ears. These paintings are also characterized by the delightfully simple composition, well-proportioned body, and the use of bright colors such as red, sky blue and pink, typical elements of the style of Buddhist painting that gained popularity in and around Chungcheong-do during the first half of the eighteenth century.
While hanging paintings of the Vairocana Buddha created before the nineteenth century are extremely rare in Korea, the few surviving ones depict him as part of a triad together with Shakyamuni and Rocana. This particular painting has a unique ‘pentad’ format, reflecting the trend of hanging paintings favored in Chungcheong-do during the mid-eighteenth century. such elements make the painting a very valuable source of knowledge regarding Korean Buddhist painting of the late Joseon period.