Buddhist Art Midterm Review | AP Art History

Background:
- First visual evidence for the practice of Buddhism in India
- King Asoka brought the Mauryan dynasty to its apogee. His legacy is best preserved in the inscribed columns and stone pillars throughout his empire.
- He was not a crown-prince an

A capital from a column ("Lion Capital"), sandstone, Mauryan period, mid-3rd century BCE, Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, India

Background:
- A stupa is a large earth or brick structures that house the remain of the Buddha, these are worshipped through pilgrimage as part of Buddhism
- Stupas derive from pre-Buddhist traditions are burial mounds
- Contain a pillar to mark the locat

Stupa 1 (or Great Stupa), sandstone, Shunga period, 1st century BCE to 1st century CE, Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh, India , west entrance, viewed from the southwest

Background:
- Parinirvana is escape from the life cycle
- Once decorated the front of a false gable from a stupa
Formal Elements:
- The Buddha is dying and shown lying on his side on a bed/or couch with a rich textile
- Four of the five monks are crying/w

The parinirvana ("great nirvana") of Shakyamuni Buddha", schist, Kushan period, 2nd to 3rd century, Gandhara region, Pakistan

Background:
- Buddha's body was cremated after the moment of his death (parinirvana)
Socio-Political Context:
- Cremation results in a lot of relics such as finger bones. The great majority of relics are small, jewel like stones.
- Even today when monks a

Cremation of the body of Shakyamuni Buddha", schist, Kushan period, 2nd to 3rd century, Gandhara region, Pakistan

Background:
- This image was not erotic or obscene in Indian culture
- The tradition of venerating yakshi was a tradition before the worship of Buddha
- A minor god at a lower rank than the Buddha and the gods are still in an endless chain of birth and re

Yakshi (fertility goddess)," Bracket figure from the east entrance of Stupa 1 (or Great Stupa), sandstone, Shunga period, 1st century BCE to 1st century CE, Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh, India

Background:
- Bharhut is destroyed
- The stupa was undecorated but the railings were elaborately carved
- Stupas had gateways at the four cardinal points
Formal Elements:
nlike the imperial art of the Mauryas, the inscriptions on railings of Bharhut stupa

Remaining railing of the Bharhut Stupa. India.
Shunga period, 2nd century BCE. Indian Museum in Kolkata (Calcutta)

Background:
- the inscriptions on these railings show that the reliefs and figures were contributed by lay people, monks and nuns.
- Jakatas (everyday scenes of life of the buddha) were used to show how to live and tell the story of the buddha
Content:
-

Dream of Queen Maya. Pillar medallion from the railing of the Bharhut Stupa. Madhya Pradesh, India. Shunga period, 2nd century BCE.

Background:
- Sanchi Stupa fully decorated with many gates and reliefs
- Aniconic
Formal Elements:
- Under the Bodhi tree the Buddha would be present
- The monkey is represented, alluding to the miracle of when the monkey saw the Buddha giving and speech

Sanchi Stupa 1, north gate, west pillar, inside second panel. 1st century BC-1st century AD, India.

Background:
- Royal may have donated money for this one which caused emphasis of royal figure
- Monkey Jataka was on of the very popular Jataka story
Story:
-T here were many monkeys living by the river and in their territory there were many mangoes. At t

Monkey Jataka, Relief carving on the south pillar of the west gate of the Great Stupa at Sanchi, 1st century BCE to 1st century CE

Background:
- Monkey Jataka was on of the very popular Jataka story
Formal:
In this image, the monkey king was represented twice, in order to represent the complicated story in a single frame
Story:
-There were many monkeys living by the river and in thei

Monkey Jataka. Pillar medallion on stupa railing of the Bharhut Stupa. India. Shunga period, early 1st century BC.

Background:
- An iconic Relief
Formal Elements:
-Samkasya is the site where Shakayamuni went up to the heaven and to the thirty-three gods where his mom was
-He climbed back to human world from three ladders from the sky (represented). On the top and bott

Buddha's descent from the Heaven of the Thirty-three Gods. St?pa railing pillar of Bharhut Stupa

Formal
- Figural very rich. They are less adorned than previous works but are in more varied poses from different angles. Have more people is not logical but perhaps to show re-creation of events of the Great Departure or depict the poignancy of the Great

Siddhartha's Great Departure from his home and family, detail from a crossbar, east gate or torana at Stupa 1, Stupa 1 (Great Stupa), sandstone, Shunga period, 1st century BCE to 1st century CE, Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh, India, east gate or torana

Background:
- On her way home she gies birth to baby
- Queen Maya is holding a branch of her tree, the baby as born from her right side
- Four figures are receiving the baby on a textile
Formal
- Iconography: Woman standing under tree and holding branch o

Birth of the Prince Siddhartha", from the Great Stupa at Amaravati, Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh, India. white limestone. Satavahana period, 2nd to 3rd century, Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh, India

Background:
-The First Images of the Buddha were created in the Kushan Empire under King Kanisha I in the 2nd century. Kanishka is very important because he began to sponsor Buddhism in this empire. The Kushan empire was sponsored by a nomadic people from

Statue of King Kanishka I, Kushan period, circa 2nd or 3rd century CE, sandstone, 64 inches, Mathura Museum, India

Background:
- From Matura region based on standstone
Its origin come from an earlier sculptural tradition, similarity with yacht image in India. The artisans were very familiar with the style and production methods of the Yaksha images.
Formal Elements:
-

Bodhisattva/Buddha Shakyamuni, "Bala's Buddha," red sandstone, Kushan period, circa 130, Katra (near Mathura), Uttar Pradesh, India. Archaeological Museum, Sarnath

Background:
-Inscription shows that it was sponsored by a nun, nun dedicated for welfare and happiness
- One of the first figural representations of the Buddha
- Images from Mathura were often commissioned by a small group of monks and nuns
- Red sandston

Bodhisattva/Buddha Shakyamuni, by Nun Amoha-asi, "Kapardin type," sandstone, Kushan period, 2nd century, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India

Formal Elements:
- Bodhisattava
- Gray Schist is from Ghandarra
Socio-Political
- Differentiation of the buddha and bodhisattva
- Shows traces of zorastranism, seen through fire worship
- Buddhism accepted gods of Zoroastrianism but put them at a lower ra

Prince Siddhartha, Gandhara region. Kushan period, 2nd century

Background:
- From Gandhara
Formal Elements:
- Gray schist
- from monastery complex
- Clothing: Wears an undergarment and wrapped with a thick textile that serves as a robe.
- Softness of robes indicates persistence of Greek artistic tradition introduced

Standing Buddha, schist, 3rd century, Kushan period, ancient Gandhara region, from Takht-i-Bahi complex, Peshawar Basin, Pakistan

Background:
- Maitreya from Ghandara region usually ha long curly hair and hold a water bottle (but the arm is lost)
-Maitreya Buddha is currently residing in Tushita Heaven, he will descend to the human world 5,670,000,000 years after the death of Sakyam

Bodhisattva Maitreya. Gandharan Kushan period Ca. 3rd century. 43 1/8 inch tall. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Provenance: sold by Ram Dass and Co., Rawalpindi, India, to the MFA for $515 on January 14, 1937)

Background:
Gupta's Defining Characteristic
Half closed eyes
Hair made of small little bumps
Shawl is smooth
body is slim and elongated
Detailed Halo
In the earlier half of the fifth century: thin lines for drapery, in the later half: few lines on drapery

Seated Shakyamuni Buddha, creamy sandstone. Gupta period, later half of the 5th century, Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, India

Folds:
Fold on drapery - earlier half of fifth century
No folds - later half of the fifth century
Stone:
Cream stone: Sarnath
Red stone: Mathura
Gray schist: Ghandara Region

Connoisseurial Practice

Background:
-Bodhisattva of compassion - "one who perceives the sounds of the world"
Formal elements:
- Bodhisattva due to decoration and jewelry
-Iconography of Avalokiteshvara: A crown with image of Amitabh Buddha of Western Pure Land, and a lotus flowe

Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, Sarnath region, India, Gupta period, late 5th century, sandstone

- Gupta's Defining Characteristic
Half closed eyes
Hair made of small little bumps
Shawl is smooth
body is slim and elongated
Detailed Halo
In the earlier half of the fifth century: thin lines for drapery, in the later half: few lines on drapery
thin robe

Standing Buddha. Red Sandstone. Mathura, India. Gupta period, Early 5th century.