THE ART OF INDIA Jenny Sun AP Art History Period 6

THE ART OF INDIAJenny SunAP Art History Period 6

INDIAN ART: OVERVIEW• The GUPTA PERIOD (c. 320-500 CE)•Buddhist Sculpture•Painting

• The POST-GUPTA PERIOD•The Early Northern Temple•Monumental Narrative Reliefs•The Early Southern Temple

• The EARLY MEDIEVAL PERIOD (c. 950-1200 CE)•The Monumental Northern Temple•The Monumental Southern Temple•The Bhakti Movement in Art

THE GUPTA PERIOD

The Gupta Empire at its largest extent

• The Indian subcontinent is a peninsular region that includes the present-day countries of India, southeastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh.

• The Guptas founded a dynasty in the eastern region of central India known as Magadha.

• This dynasty is renowned for its flourishing artistic and literary culture.

• During this period, Buddhism reached its greatest influence in India.

• Two schools of Buddhist sculpture dominated in northern India: the Mathura and the Sarnath.

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• He embodies the fully developed Sarnath Gupta style and stands in a mildly relaxed pose with the body clearly visible through a clinging robe.

• This plain sanghati (Buddhist robe) is distinctive of the Sarnath period: its effect is to focus attention on the perfected form of the body, which emerges in high relief.

Stokstad plate 9-17:Standing Buddha, from Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, IndiaGupta Period, 474 CEChunar sandstone, height: 6’4” (1.93 m)Archaelogical Museum, Sarnath

BUDDHIST SCULPTURE

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• He is sculpted with a graceful/slight body with broad shoulders and a well-proportioned torso.

• His downcast eyes suggest otherworldly introspection.but gentle, open posture maintains a human link

• There are remains of a large circular halo carved in concentric circles of pearls and foliage behind the head./contrast with plain surfaces of figure

• The Sarnath Gupta style reveals the Buddha in perfection and equilibrium; he is represented as a being whose spiritual purity is fused with his physical purity.Stokstad plate 9-17:

Standing Buddha, from Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, IndiaGupta Period, 474 CEChunar sandstone, height: 6’4” (1.93 m)Archaelogical Museum, Sarnath

BUDDHIST SCULPTURE

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• This mural is from the Buddhist rock-cut halls of Ajanta, in the western Deccan region of India.

• Cave I is a large vihara (Buddhist monastery) hall with monks’ chambers around the sides and a shrine chamber in the back

• The walls of the central court were covered with fresco murals that depicted episodes from the Buddha’s past lives.

Stokstad plate 9-18:Bodhisattva, detail of a wall painting in

Cave I, Ajanta, Maharashtra, IndiaGupta Period, c. 475 CE

PAINTING

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• Two large bodhisattvas (one of them shown here) flanked the entrance of the shrine.

• The bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who postpone nirvana and buddhahood to help others achieve enlightenment.

• They are distinguished from buddhas in art by their princely garments.

Stokstad plate 9-18:Bodhisattva, detail of a wall painting in

Cave I, Ajanta, Maharashtra, IndiaGupta Period, c. 475 CE

PAINTING

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• This bodhisattva is lavishly adorned with delicate ornaments.

• He wears a complex crown with many tiny pearl festoons, large earrings, long necklaces of twisted pearl strands, armbands, and bracelets.

• He displays a sympathetic attitude with his graceful bending posture and serene gaze.

• His spiritual power is suggested by his large size compared to the smaller surrounding figures.(hierarchical perspective)

• Outline drawing was always a major ingredient of Indian painting.

• The bodhisattva appears both graciously divine and yet very human.Thisis a special Gupta artistic achievement

Stokstad plate 9-18:Bodhisattva, detail of a wall painting in Cave

I, Ajanta, Maharashtra, IndiaGupta Period, c. 475 CE

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• naturalistic style balances outline and softly graded color tones (formal analysis)

• the tonal gradations impart 3-d illusion, with lighter tones for protruding parts

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• What about the Mathura style?

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POST-GUPTA PERIOD

• The Gupta dynasty’s influence in religion and the arts lingered until the mid-10th century.

• Hinduism began to dominate Indian religious life.• Hindu temples and sculptures of the Hindu gods

increasingly appeared during the Gupta period and the post-Gupta era.

• The Hindu temple can be classified into two types: northern and southern.

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PARTS OF BUDDHIST STUPAS & TEMPLES

Nice diagram

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• The northern type is distinguished by a superstructure called a shikhara, a solid mass above the flat stone ceiling and windowless walls of the garbhagriha (sanctum), which houses an image of the temple’s deity.

• the shikhara curves inward in a paraboloid shape

• a circular, cushion-like elements called an amalaka (a fruit) crowns the top

• talk about fiial and rest of temple theme from p.. 346

• what about “meaning and ritual in Hindu Temples and Images” box on p. 346?

Northern Hindu temples generally

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Stokstad plate 9-19:Vishnu Temple at Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh, IndiaPost-Gupta Period, c. 530 CE

THE EARLYNORTHERNTEMPLE

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• The northern type is distinguished by a superstructure called a shikhara, a solid mass above the flat stone ceiling and windowless walls of the garbhagriha (sanctum), which houses an image of the temple’s deity.

• This is one of the earliest known northern-style temples.

• Much of the shikhara has crumbled away, so it’s hard to determine its original shape with precision.

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• It was a massive, solid structure built out of large, cut stones that would’ve given the impression of a mountain, which is one of several metaphoric meanings of a Hindu temple.

• This early temple has only one chamber that corresponds to the center of a sacred diagram called a mandala.

• The garbhagriha is likened to a sacred cavern within the “cosmic mountain” of the temple.

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• The entrance takes a worshiper from the mundane world into the sacred; stepping over a threshold is considered a purifying act.

• Two river goddesses, one on each lintel, symbolize the purifying waters flowing down over the entrance.

• A small image of the god Vishnu is placed above the door in the center.

• Male and female guardians flank the doorway at the bottom.

• Large relief panels with images of Vishnu act as “windows” that function symbolically to let the light of the deity out of the temple to be seen by those outside.

Stokstad plate 9-20:Doorway of the Vishnu Temple at Deogarh

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• Vishnu sleeps on the serpent of infinity, Ananta, whose body coils endlessly into space.

• His female energy (shakti) is personified by the goddess Lakshmi, seen holding his foot.

• He dreams the universe into existence as a lotus springs from his navel, which symbolizes the birth of the universe.

Stokstad plate 9-21:Vishnu Narayana on the Cosmic

WatersRelief panel in the Vishnu Temple at

DeogarhStone

c. 530 CE

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• The first being created is Brahma, who appears as a central, four-headed figure in the row of gods above Vishnu.

• Vishnu is depicted as a large figure with four arms, symbolizing his unlimited power.

• The 2 leftmost figures represent evil and the 4 rightmost figures personify Vishnu’s powers

• The birth of the universe and the appearance of evil are portrayed here in 3 registers.

Stokstad plate 9-21:Vishnu Narayana on the Cosmic

WatersRelief panel in the Vishnu Temple at

DeogarhStone

c. 530 CE

MONUMENTAL NARRATIVE RELIEFS

• Another major Hindu god is Shiva, whose name means “benign”.

• He exhibits a wide range of forms, both gentle and wild: the Great Yogi who meditates in the Himalayas, a Husband for makes love to the goddess Parvati, the Slayer of Demons, and the Cosmic Dancer who dances the destruction and re-creation of the world.

• Many of these forms appear in the monumental relief panels of the Cave-Temple of Shiva, located on the island of Elephanta off the coast of Bombay in western India.

• This temple contains 3 entrances: one facing north, one east, and one west

• The interior is designed along 2 main axes: one running north-south and the other east-west

• The 3 entrances are the only sources of light and create a mysterious atmosphere, which matches Shiva, the most unpredictable of the Hindu gods

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Stokstad plate 9-22:Cave-Temple of Shiva at Elephanta, Maharashtra, IndiaPost-Gupta period, mid-6th century CEView along the east-west axis to the lingam shrine

• Along the east-west axis, large pillars cut from living rock appear to support the low ceiling, but they are not structural.

• Each pillar has an unadorned, square base rising to nearly half its total height.

• Above each pillar is a fluted circular column with a cushion capital.

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Stokstad plate 9-22:Cave-Temple of Shiva at Elephanta, Maharashtra, IndiaPost-Gupta period, mid-6th century CEView along the east-west axis to the lingam shrine

• The focus of the east-west axis is a square lingam shrine with each of its four entrances flanked by a pair of colossal standing guardian figures.

• The lingam is seen in nearly every Shiva temple and represents the presence of Shiva as the Brahman; it symbolizes his erotic nature and his form as the Great Yogi meditator.

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• The focus of the north-south axis is a relief on the south wall depicting Shiva in his Subtle Body.

• A huge bust of Shiva represents his Sadashiva, or Eternal Shiva form.

• 3 heads are shown but 5 are implied: the fourth in the back and the fifth, never depicted, on top.

Stokstad plate 9-23:Eternal Shiva, rock cut relief in the Cave-Temple of Shiva at ElephantaMid-6th century CEHeight approx. 11’ (3.4 m)

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• The heads summarize Shiva’s fivefold nature as creator (back), protector (left shoulder), destroyer (right shoulder), obscurer (front), and releaser (top).

• His protector nature is depicted as female and his destroyer nature wears a fierce expression with snakes around his neck.

• Indian artists often convey many aspects of essential nature in a deity with multiple heads or arms with convincing naturalismStokstad plate 9-23:

Eternal Shiva, rock cut relief in the Cave-Temple of Shiva at ElephantaMid-6th century CEHeight approx. 11’ (3.4 m)

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• What about third great Hindu deity Devi?

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Stokstad plate 9-24:Durga Mahishasura-mardini (Durga as Slayer of the Buffalo Demon)Rock-cut relief, Mamallapuram, Tamil Nodu, IndiaPallava period, c. mid-7th century CEGranite, height approx. 9’ (2.7 m)

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• Durga, the warrior goddess, is the essence of the conquering powers of the gods.

• Triumphantly riding her lion, a symbol of her shakti, the eight-armed Durga battles the Mahishasura, the buffalo demon.

• The huge demon figure with a human body and a buffalo head is shown lunging to the right as his warriors fall to the ground.


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• Durga’s moods of victory and defeat are shown by her victorious figure flashing her weapons, accompanied by energetic, dwarfish warriors.

• The artist clarifies the drama by focusing our attention on the two principal actors, while the surrounding figures play secondary roles that support the main action.

• It is evident that this was created during the Pallava dynasty (7th - 9th century): figures tend to be slim and elegant with little ornament.and rhtyms of line and form have a graceful, unifying, and humanizing charm


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THE EARLY SOUTHERN TEMPLE• The Five Rathas preserve a sequence

of early architectural styles and one of these, the Dharmaraja Ratha, epitomizes the early southern-style temple.

• probably arved in style of contemporary wood or brick structures that have long disappeared

• It looks different from the northern style but uses the same symbolism to link the heavens and earth.

• The tradition of narrative reliefs began dying out and the stories they told became focused in statues of individual deities. Stokstad plate 9-25:

Dharmaraja Ratha, Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu, India

Pallava period, c. mid-7th century CE

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THE EARLY SOUTHERN TEMPLE

• The temple, square in plan, remains unfinished, and the garbhagriha sanctum usually found inside was never hollowed out.

• The Dharmaraja Ratha has a pyramidal tower (vimana) that contains several rows of miniature shrines, and it is crowned with a octagonal capstone

• similarities to northern style?• missing some interesting description

Stokstad plate 9-25:Dharmaraja Ratha, Mamallapuram, Tamil

Nadu, IndiaPallava period, c. mid-7th century CE

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THE EARLY MEDIEVAL PERIOD

• A so-called Medieval period extended from the 10th to the 17th century

• During this period, many small kingdoms and dynasties flourished, which led to a rise in regional styles

• Some were long-lived, such as the Pallavas and Cholas in the south and the Palas in the northeast

• Buddhism declined while Hindu gods became increasingly popular

• Local kings rivaled each other in the building of temples to their favored deity

• By around 1000 CE the Hindu temple had reached unparalleled heights of grandeur and engineering

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THE MONUMENTAL NORTHERN TEMPLE• The Kandariya Mahadeva is a temple

dedicated to Shiva at Khajuraho that was probably built by a ruler of the Chandella dynasty.

• Khajuraho was the capital and main temple site for the Chandellas, who built more than 80 temples there.

• The Kandariya Mahadeva temple is in the northern style, with a shikhara superstructure rising over its shrine and crowned by an amalaka (stone disk).

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THE MONUMENTAL NORTHERN TEMPLE

• Like at Deogarh, the temple rests on a stone terrace with a steep flight of stairs at the front that leads to a series of three halls called mandapas. What do the mandapas halls symbolize? The halls serve as spaces for ritual such as dances and for the presentation of offerings.

• The temple is built of stone blocks using only post-and-lintel construction.

• The exterior suggests a “cosmic mountain” composed of ornately carved stone.

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• The towers of the superstructure are separated from the lower portion by strong horizontal moldings and by open spaces.

• Three rows of sculptures (about 600 figures) are integrated into the exterior walls.

• The sculptures depict gods and goddesses and are thought to express Shiva’s divine bliss.

Stokstad plate 9-26:Kandariya Mahadeva temple, Khajuraho, Madhya, Pradesh, IndiaChandella dynasty, Early Medieval periodc. 1000 CE

mandapasamalaka

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• The lower portion of the temple is characterized by a verticality whose visual impact is similar to that of engaged columns and buttresses.

• The porches, two on each side and one in the back, contribute to the complexity by outwardly expanding the ground plan.

Stokstad plate 9-26:Kandariya Mahadeva temple, Khajuraho, Madhya, Pradesh, IndiaChandella dynasty, Early Medieval periodc. 1000 CE

mandapasamalaka nice

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THE MONUMENTAL SOUTHERN TEMPLE• The Cholas succeeded the Pallavas in the mid-9th century.• The dynasty reached its peak during the reign of Rajaraja I,

who built the Rajarajeshvara Temple to Shiva in his capital, Thanjavur.

• This temple is the supreme achievement of the southern style of Hindu architecture and stands within a huge, walled compound near the banks of the Kaveri River.

• Clarity of design, a formal balance of parts, and refined décor contribute to the Rajarajeshvara’s majesty.

• It was probably the tallest structure in India in its time at 216 feet.

• Like the Kandariya Mahadeva, it has a longitudinal axis and greatly expanded dimensions.

• Typical of the southern style, the mandapa halls at the front of the Rajarajeshvara have flat roofs, as opposed to the pyramidal roofs of the northern style.

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• The base of the vimana houses the garbhagriha rises for two stories.

• The exterior walls are ornamented with niches, each of which holds a single statue, usually depicting a form of Shiva.

• The clear, regular, and wide spacing of the niches contrasts with the irregular, concave-convex rhythms of the northern style.

Stokstad plate 9-27:Rajarajeshvara Temple to Shiva, Thanjavur,

Tamil Nadu, IndiaChola dynasty, Early Medieval period, 1003-10 CE

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• The vimana of the Rajarajeshvara is a four-sided, hollow pyramid that rises for 13 stories.

• Each story is decorated with miniature shrines, window motifs, and robust dwarf figures.

• At the top of the vimana is an octagonal dome-shaped capstone that is exactly the same size as the garbhagriha housed 13 stories directly below.

Stokstad plate 9-27:Rajarajeshvara Temple to Shiva, Thanjavur,

Tamil Nadu, IndiaChola dynasty, Early Medieval period, 1003-10 CE

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THE BHAKTI MOVEMENT IN ART• Throughout the Early Medieval period two major religious

movements were developing that affected Hindu practice and its art: the tantric (esoteric) and the bhakti, or devotional.

• The tantric sect mainly influenced the north while the bhakti movements mainly influenced the south.

• The bhakti devotional movement was based on ideas expressed in ancient texts, especially the Bhagavad Gita. Bhakti revolves around the ideal relationship between humans and deities.

• According to the bhakti, it is the gods who create maya (illusion), in which we are all trapped. Bhakti stresses an intimate, personal, and loving relation with god, and the complete devotion and surrender to god.

• The bhakti movement spread during the ensuing Late Medieval period into North India.

• New religious forms eventually evolved from Islam’s long and complex interaction with the peoples of the subcontinent.

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• The corridors of the passages around the garbhagriha in the Rajarajeshvara temple were orginally adorned with frescoes that were only recently discovered.

• One painting apparently depicts the ruler Rajaraja himself, as a simple mendicant humbly standing behind his religious teacher.

• With his white beard and dark skin, the aged teacher contrasts with the youthful, bronze-skinned king.

Stokstad plate 9-28:Rajaraja I and His Teacher, detail of a wall painting in the Rajarajeshvara Temple to ShivaChola dynasty, Early Medieval Period c. 1010 CE

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• The position of the two suggests that the king treats the saintly teacher with intimacy and respect.

• Both figures allude to their devotion to Shiva by holding a small flower as an offering, and both wear their hair in the “ascetic locks” of Shiva in his Great Yogi aspect.

• The portrayal shows a contrast: the old and the youthful, the teacher and the devotee, the saint and the king---united as followers of Shiva.

• Line is the essence of the painting.

Stokstad plate 9-28:Rajaraja I and His Teacher, detail of a wall painting in the Rajarajeshvara Temple to ShivaChola dynasty, Early Medieval Period c. 1010 CE

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• No sculpture is more representative of Chola bronzes than the statues of Shiva Nataraja, or Dancing Shiva.

• The dance of Shiva is a dance of cosmic proportions, signifying the universe’s cycle of death and rebirth. also a dance for each individual, signifying liberation of the believer thru Shiva’s compassion

• In the iconography of the Nataraja, this sculpture shows Shiva with four arms dancing on the prostrate body of Apasmaru, a dwarf figure who symbolizes “becoming” and whom Shiva controls.

Stokstad plate 9-29:Shiva Nataraja, from Thanjavur, Tamil NaduChola dynasty, 12th century CEBronze, 32” (81.25 cm)National Museum of India, New Delhi

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• The central axis, which aligns the nose, navel, and insole of the weight-bearing foot, maintains the figure’s equilibrium while the remaining limbs asymmetrically extend far to each side.

• He represents a characteristically Indian synthesis of the godly and the human


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• Shiva’s back right hand holds a drum; its beat represents the irrevocable rhythms of creation and destruction, birth and death.

• Shiva’s extended left hand holds a ball of fire; a circle of fire rings the god as well.

• The fire is emblematic of the destruction of maya and our ego-centered perceptions.

• His front right arm gestures the “have no fear” mudra.

• The front left arm, gracefully stretched across his body with the hand pointing to his raised foot, signifies the promise of liberation.


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• Shiva wears a short loincloth, a ribbon tied above his waist, and delicately tooled ornaments.

• The scant clothing reveals his perfected form with its broad shoulders tapering to a supple waist.


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THE ART OF INDIA Jenny Sun AP Art History Period 6