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Example research essay topic: Two Periods Of Buddhist Art In India - 1,451 words

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Two Periods of Buddhist Art in India Less than 1 % of the population of modern India is Buddhist. Therefore, it is reasonable to say that Indias importance for Buddhism and its art is mainly its historical influence. Not only is India the country where the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, lived and taught, but it is the land where the first images of the Buddha were produced and where Buddhist iconography and symbolism evolved. Being a student whose family originates in India, I am interested in some of the historical aspects and influences of Buddhist Art in India. Therefore, my study of this topic extends to two of the most important periods of Buddhist art in India, the Kushan and the Gupta Periods.

The Kushan period is the period in which the first human images of the Buddha appeared. This paper will briefly discuss the Mathura region and will primarily focus on the styles and attributes of sculptures from the Gandharan region. This discussion will illustrate how regional differences contributed in developing two distinct styles of art within the same period. Therefore, I will briefly discuss the history and location of the Gandharan region. I will focus on the Gandharan Bodhisattva (2 nd/ 3 rd century, made of schist) displayed in the Art Institute. Next, the paper will discuss the Gupta Dynasty, this is period in which the culture of the period was more concerned with aesthetic values of sculpture, which I will illustrate through my discussion of the Preaching Buddha of Sarnath (c. 475 ad, Buff Sandstone).

As a result, the art from the Gandharan region will show how regional location and influences affected this periods sculpture, and the art from the Gupta Period will illustrate how aesthetic preferences of the culture influenced the sculpture of this period. By discussing the Gandharan Bodhisattva and Preaching Buddha from Sarnath, we can see that the art of Buddhism in India reflects the ideals and the sophisticated aesthetics of the varied regions and periods in which it flourished. In early Buddhist art, the Buddha was merely symbolized by a wheel, a bodhi tree, or a stupa. Not until the Kushan period [AD 50 - 250 ], during the reign of Kanishka I, was the historic Buddha represented in human form. The creation of a Buddha image in human form corresponded to the theological changes influenced by Mahayana Buddhism taking place in the religion. Two distinct styles of sculpture emerged during the Kushan period, one associated with the region of Gandhara and the other with the city of Mathura in northern India.

There is much debate in which region these first images appeared, and such discussion is not relevant to my thesis. What is relevant is that these two regions developed two distinctly different styles of sculpture. While Mathura art developed from local Indian artistic traditions, Gandharan sculptures were heavily influenced by the artistic traditions of the Hellenistic world, most probably as a result of Alexander the Great's colony in Bactria (western Afghanistan). Mathura school sculptures often share iconographic features with their Kushan-period counterparts in the northwest. But for the most part, they reveal a purely Indic stylistic heritage that must have evolved independently (Huntington 151). The Gandharan style of sculpture, on the other hand, combines an intriguing blend of Western classical and Indian influences.

Gandhara was a region in the northwest of ancient India, known for its Greco-Buddhist school of sculpture. Gandhara corresponded to the modern Peshawar valley, but its more popular meaning today encompasses large portions of northern Pakistan and adjoining northeastern Afghanistan. Gandhara's regional location was vital to this Hellenistic development. Gandhara was located just east of the famous Khyber Pass, comprising what is now north-western Pakistan. The art of the Roman Empire was probably brought to Gandhara because much of the Mediterranean trade with Asia was channeled through such mountain passes. This regions sculpture had some chief characteristics, especially its degree of realism inherited from its Greek antecedents in the area combined with ideals of its own native tradition.

The stance of the figures, the style of the draperies, and even the proportions of the idealized features of the heads with their straight noses, oval eyebrows and tranquil expressions owe much to Greek prototypes (Penny 103). We can observe the Greco-Roman influence on the sculpture of Gandharan art by observing the Gandharan Bodhisattva at the Art Institute. As a beginning student in Buddhist Art, the stylistic differences in this sculpture are quite obvious. After conducting research on Gandharan sculptures, I found that the sense of volume conveyed in the outline of the Buddhas garment is characteristic of Gandhara sculptures.

Both the folds of the clothing and the body underneath are modeled with a greater sense of naturalism compared to the sculptures can be seen in images from Mathura. It is important to note that although most sculptures from the Gandhara region share certain stylistic and iconographic features, a tremendous variety may be seen in its works. However, in general sculptures are characterized by naturalism in body forms, drapery, and pictorial scale, reveling a debt to Hellenistic, Roman, and other western influences (Huntington 134). This example of a Gandharan Bodhisattva probably once stood in a stupa or temple. This sculpture is made from the material schist.

According to the book The Materials of Sculpture, Schist is a metamorphic rock of foliate character and dark silvery gray color, sometimes tending to blue or green. Used for the great school of Buddhist sculpture in Gandhara (Penny 310). The hard schist material allowed the sculptors of Gandhara to carve the folds of the garments and details of features and jewelry much more crisply and with greater volume than materials such as sandstone (Pal 152). Originally [such sculptures] may have been polychromed or gilded. (Pal 307).

The structures made of schist were often covered with gold leaf, sometimes applied directly to the stone, sometimes over red priming. This often made such statues appear golden. Unfortunately, the sculpture in the art institute has lost its shine with age, but if you look closely you can see gold sparkles across the image. This sculpture obviously has foreign influence when we observe the long wavy thick hair, the heavy robe and sandals. This seemed to be some of the influences via Alexander the Greats conquering pathways of trade. The princely bearing of the figure is emphasized by the powerful, fleshy torso, the rounded breasts and abdomen, and the long, wavy hair.

The strong, round chin, straight nose, and smooth oval face adorned by a twirling moustache suggest the mixture of races and nature of Gandharan art and culture. It is typical of the hybrid art from Gandhara, Greco-Buddhist, in that the sculpture is purely Greco-Roman in profile, but dressed as an Indian secular prince wearing a dhoti. The relaxed pose and jewelry represent the bodhisattvas continuing association with mankind as, through compassion, he has voluntarily postponed his own achievement of nirvana in order to devote his superhuman powers to relieve suffering and further the spiritual progress of others. This impressive sculpture illustrates the emergence of the Bodhisattva as a distinct iconographic image in the Buddhist religion and artistic tradition. The way in which the robes hang, the facial features, executed in accordance with the standards of the Hellenistic school, are combined with the traditional meditative poses of Buddhist art.

It probably stood on a base whose front was carved with a scene of worship. Gandharan Bodhisattvas are considered the most elaborate adorned and regal of all gods represented in Indian art, yet they display a human vulnerability by wearing charms. These figures are accompanied by a plain halo, which indicates their divinity eventhough their other attire represents a secular prince. In summary, we see a Bodhisattva who is decorated with jewelry to symbolize his humanity, but is obviously a divine figure stylized to fit the ideals and influences of Greco-Roman sculpture. While the Gandhara Bodhisattva illustrates how regional differences influenced art of the Kushan Period, the Preaching Buddha of Sarnath illustrates how sculptors from the Gupta period were more concerned with the aesthetic effect of their work. Karl Khandalavala explains Gupta art by stating that, While earlier art was extrovert and concerned with mundane existence, this art is introvert and aims at visualizing the superman endowed with the highest wisdom, which is declared as the supreme goal of life (41).

In his book, Indian Sculpture, Pratapaditya Pal builds on Khandalavalas idea when he states, There is less concern with garment folds and details of jewelry. In contrast, the sculptors were more interested in registering inner feeling and spiritual ecstasy, not through dramatic distortions but by a subtle and serene expressiveness (212). The Gupta period (AD c. 320 -c. 5...


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Research essay sample on Two Periods Of Buddhist Art In India

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