Write a short vote about Mathura school in kushan period.
Answers
Answer:
The Kushan period of imperialism, at its grandest moment, reigned over the region covering present-day Afghanistan, north-west Pakistan and north-western India. The rise and growth of the Kushans as a political power (1st century to 3rd century AD) coincided with a great cultural ferment in the region. The age of maturity in Indian classical art began.
Explanation:
Kanishka I, the third member in the Kushan royal line who developed the empire to its fullest extent, was a great patron of the Buddhist religion and under him Buddhist art production received a significant stimulus.
Artistic activities were fairly widespread and two main spheres of Kushan art are generally recognised—the broader Bactria-Gandhara region in the north-west lower Kabul Valley and upper Indus around Peshawar where strongly Hellenised and works of Persian influence were produced, and northern India, particularly the Mathura region, the winter capital of the Kushans, where works in the Indian style were produced.
An important aspect of Kushan art is the emphasis on the emperor himself as a divine persona. This is visible in a number of contexts, including the coinage of the Kushan rulers and in important surviving shrines from which a cult of the divine emperor may be inferred.
While the early Buddhist artists used symbols to represent the presence of the Buddha, beginning with the Kushan rule, the Buddha was represented in human form. It is not yet quite clear where the first images of the Buddha were produced. Most Indian scholars believe that the Buddha image originated in Mathura and not in Gandhara.
Gandhara School:
The most notable of the Gandharan icons was that of the Buddha seated in the position of a yogi. Dressed in a monk’s garment, his head displays the signs of his supernatural powers—the large ears, the third eye on his forehead, and the protuberance on his head, indicating that he hears all, sees all and knows all.
Although the forms are clearly influenced by foreign art, the iconography is strictly Indian, showing that this art represents a fusion of native and foreign elements. The great strength of the classical elements in the art of the Gandhara province is best seen in portrait heads and the representations of classical deities which found their way into the Buddhist art of north-western India.
The same influence is also seen in the relief carvings which, both in their artistic style and in much of their iconographical detail, are closely related to Roman relief sculptures of imperial times. The position of the figures, the treatment of the body and the architectural forms used are all clearly derived from Roman models.
Most of the Gandharan reliefs portray episodes from the life of the Buddha or scenes from Buddhist legends. In contrast to the Buddha who is always represented as wearing a monk’s garment and having short hair, the bodhisattvas or Buddhist saints are shown with a bare upper body, skirt, scarves, jewels and long hair. This contrast between the Buddha as the sacred being who has achieved Enlightenment, and the bodhisattva who is on the road to this goal, is found in the Buddhist art of entire Asia.
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In the Indian context, the style of Gandhara has a ‘rather insipid flavour’. The Buddha images lack the spirituality of the images of the Gupta period. However, it would be only fair to note that the images have a gentle, graceful and compassionate look about them.
There are two phases in the development of this school: the first in stone and the second, from about the fourth century onwards, in stucco.
Mathura School:
The first three centuries of the Christian era saw the golden period of the Mathura school of sculpture. The new ideals of Mahayana Buddhism inspired the sculptors. According to Indian authorities, the creation of the Buddha image was the greatest contribution of the artists of this school. Its material was for centuries the white-spotted red sandstone. This school drew inspiration from Jainism as well as Iranian and Greco-Roman styles.
Striking remains show a female figure from the railings of a stupa, probably Jaina. Richly jewelled, figures exaggeratedly broad of hip and slender of waist, with their graceful, almost provocative, attitude, these sculptures exemplify the remarkable ancient Indian outlook on life which did not see anything incongruous in the juxtaposition of frank sensuality with the piety and renunciation of the monastery.
The Kushan art of Mathura is important in the history of Indian art as it embodies the symbolism and iconographic forms that were adopted later. The forms of the Brahmanical deities, for example, became crystallised at Mathura for the first time.
The influence of the Buddha image spread far and wide, reaching the art centres of China. Some of the striking pieces of this school are the statues of Vema Kadphises and Kanishka, torana tympanum with the worship of Buddhist symbols, a seated Kubera, and several railing pillars with figures of women.
Mathura School
Explanation:
- The first three centuries of the Christian time saw the brilliant time of the Mathura school of model. The new beliefs of Mahayana Buddhism motivated the artists. As per Indian specialists, the making of the Buddha picture was the best commitment of the craftsmen of this school. Its material was for a considerable length of time the white-spotted red sandstone. This school drew motivation from Jainism just as Iranian and Greco-Roman styles
- For the development of Indian sculptural craftsmanship, the Kushana time frame may appropriately be known as the brilliant time of Mathura. Despite the way that the town had filled in as a point of convergence of worker from earlier Mauryan times, as reinforced by the tall picture from Parkham and its etching, Mathura rose as a central spot in the Kushana time frame