This article examines the patrons, the painters, the related organization, and the stylistic characteristics of Buddhist paintings produced under the court patronage in the 16th century. Due to the policy of Buddhist revival of Queen Munj?ng, mother of King My?ngjong (ι', 1545-67), and the master Powu (1509-65), various Buddhist projects were actively conducted during the 16th century. This exhibits a sharp contrast to the earlier years of Chos?n dynasty, when they were held only on a limited basis under the sponsorship of a small number of pro-Buddhist kings, queens and royal concubines, and princes. This, of course, was due to the consistent and restrictive policy against Buddhism by kings, especially. T'aejong, Sejong, S?ngjong and Y?nsan'gun. As a reflection of the proliferation of Buddhist projects in the 16th century, a large number of Buddhist paintings were produced during this period, Among more than 120 Buddhist paintings extant from the early and middle periods of tho Chos?n dynasty, more than 90 are from the 16th century. Among them 16 are produced under the patronage of the court, royal clansmen, and Buddhist priests who held close relationship with them. These paintings of court patronage manifest high artistic standard and unique stylistic features, revealing a new style in Buddhist painting, which enables us to refer to them as the so-called "16th-century court style." This hints at the fact that they were produced under the supervision of a single organization. It is probable that the Buddhist paintings of court patronage in the 16th century were produced with the court expenses called naet'angg?m 內帑金. It is thus considered that Naesusa 內需司, an office that administered naet'angg?m, was connected to the production of those paintings. Various documents from the first half of Chos?n dynasty testify that Naesusa actually took the exclusive charge of the expenditure for the court-sponsored Buddhist projects and mobilized court painters and sculptors. It seems thus probable that the paintings and sculptures produced under the patronage of the court got to share the same stylistic features. The patrons of the Buddhist paintings of court patronage in the 16th century are classified into three categories according to their status: (1) queens and royal concubines, (2) royal clansmen, and (3) Buddhist priests. Among the queens and royal concubines. Queen Munj?ng, mother of King My?ngjong, was the most active in supporting the production of Buddhist paintings. She was the patron for 8 out of 16 paintings produced by the court patronage. She is also known to have sponsored the production of altogether 400 paintings at the time of the reconstruction of Hoeamsa (in Ky?nggi province) in 1565, although these works are not extant. Other major patrons for Buddhist paintings include Queen Ins?ng, queen of King Injong (r. 1544-45), and Lady Sukbin (Yun), presumably the concubine of King S?njo (r. 1567-1608). Among the royal clansmen, Yi Chongrin, a nephew of King My?ngjong, supported the creation of a Buddhist painting for the bliss of his deceased grandfather. Among Buddhist monks, the master Powu, who, along with Queen Munj?ng, led the revival of Buddhism for more than twenty years during the mid-Chosen period, deserves special attention. As regards the painters, only the Thirty-two Manifestations of Avalokite?vara painted in 1550 specifies their names. In other paintings such generic terms as yanggong 良工, hwasa 畵士 and yanghwa 良畵 are simply used. The term yanggong, which is the most common, does not necessarily refer to painters affiliated to the court academy Tohwas? 圖畵署, but it is notable that the Thirty-two Manifestations of Avalokite?vara exhibits excellent techniques in the rendering of landscape. It seems thus quite plausible that a number of painters affiliated to Tohwas? participated in the production of Buddhist paintings in the 16th century. Paintings of this period show stylistic similarities, particularly in the pointed u??i?a, the patterns applied on the clothes, the form of hands and feet, and the shape of the seats. The following characteristics can be retrieved from the extant works. First, figures are depicted with a round face, a particularly small mouth, and a pointed u??i?a. These characteristics are visible not only in Buddhist paintings, but also in Buddhist sculptures and in Buddhist prints published by Kan'gy?ng togam 刊經都監, an office which specialized in the printing of Buddhist scriptures. They reflect the style of Buddhist art in the Ming dynasty, and this is due to the active contacts maintained in Buddhist art between Ming and Chos?n since the early Chos?n period and the prevalent influence from Ming. Second, pure-gold pigment was applied in many paintings. Such examples must have been votive and optative offerings for the well-being of the members of the court and for the birth of a prince. Third, in a number of examples, stylistic features of landscape painting of the early Chos?n period are reflected. While the early Chos?n period is generally known as a period of decline in Buddhist art due to the deliberate state policy suppressing Buddhism, a exquisite court-style emerged in full bloom during the 16th century with Queen Munj?ng's policy of Buddhist revival. Naesusa in charge of court expenditure, administered Buddhist undertakings, and Buddhist-art style of a high standard was created with the participation of court painters. The introduction of' the Buddhist-art style of Ming, which was effectively digested by court painters, also contributed to the establishment of the so-called "16th-century court style.". The court-sponsored Buddhist paintings of the 16th century demonstrates clearly that the social status of the patrons decided the artistic style of the time.