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Chapter 6Paths to Enlightenment:

The Art of South and Southeast Asia

before 1200

Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, 12e

Chapter 25Sultans, Kings, Emperors and

Colonists:The Art of South and Southeast Asia

after 1200

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South and Southeast Asia

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Key Ideas

• Indian art stresses the interconnectedness of all the arts: architecture, painting, and sculpture.

• Buddhist & Hindu philosophies form a background to Indian artistic thought.

• A vibrant school of manuscript painting using brilliantly applied watercolors flourishes in India.

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History• History of invasion & assimilation.• Layers of disparate populations – 18 official

languages, Hindus, Muslims, Jains, Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs, tribal religions

• Arts are critical• Rulers have been major patrons to enhance

civic/religious life & themselves• Monuments are a combination of arts, with 1

artist as leader of project w/ single vision• Design may be determined by religious

advisor who worked with lead artist• Highly organized approach to artistic

training - apprenticeship

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Figure 6-2 Robed male figure, from Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan, ca. 2600–1900 BCE. Steatite, 6 7/8” high. National Museum of Pakistan, Karachi.

6Figure 6-3 Seal with seated figure in yogic posture, from Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan, ca. 2600–1900 BCE. Steatite coated with alkali and baked, approx. 1 3/8” X 1 3/8”. National Museum, New Delhi.

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Philosophy of Buddhism

• Life is full of suffering with an endless cycle of birth & rebirth

• Goal is to end the cycle & achieve oneness with the supreme spirit, usually by accumulating spiritual merit through good works, charity, etc.

Iconography:o Lion = symbol of Buddha’s loyaltyo Wheel = Buddha’s lawo Lotus = symbol of Buddha’s pure nature.o Columns surround by wheel = Buddha’s

teachingo Empty Throne = Buddha or reminder of his

presence

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Characteristics of Buddhist Art

Architecture:• Place of worship = stupa (reliquary; mound-

shaped shrine w/ no interior)• Pray while walking clockwise (easterly)

around it. Cosmic symbolism.• Symbol of Mt. Meru, mountain at center of

the world & axis connecting earth & heavens

• 3 umbrellas at top symbolizing 3 jewels of Buddhism: Buddha, Law, Community of Monks. Square around is sacred tree surrounded by fence.

• Gates at 4 points of compass (toranas)

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Characteristics of Buddhist ArtPainting/Sculpture:• Little negative space• Compact pose• Seated (usually) in lotus position w/ wheel

on souls of feet• Drapery is regional – tight-fitting over 1

shoulder (Central India); heavy robes over both shoulder (NW, Pakistan, Afghanistan – Hellenistic influence)

• Frontal, symmetrical, w/ nimbus/halo around head

• Helpers (bodhisattvas) nearby• Meditative mood• Hand gestures (mudras) tell actions/feelings• Hair bun (ushnisha); curl on forehead

(urna); no jewelry – rejection of court life• Base – predella (may show donors figures)• Nature spirits – yakshas (males) & yakshis

(females)

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Figure 6-4 Lion capital of column erected by Ashoka at Sarnath, India, ca. 250 BCE. Polished sandstone, approx. 7’ high. Archaeological Museum, Sarnath.

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Figure 6-5 Great Stupa, Sanchi, India, third century BCE to first century CE (View from the east).

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Figure 6-7 Yakshi, detail of eastern gateway, Great Stupa, Sanchi, India, mid first century BCE to early first century CE.

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Figure 6-8 Interior (left), section (top right), and plan (bottom right) of chaitya hall, Karle, India, ca. 100 CE.

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Figure 6-9 Meditating Buddha, from Gandhara, Pakistan, second century CE. Gray schist, 3’ 7 1/2” high. Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh.

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Figure 6-10 The life and death of the Buddha, frieze from Gandhara, Pakistan, second century CE. Schist, 2’ 2 3/8” X 9’ 6 1/8”. Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

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Figure 6-11 Buddha seated on lion throne, from Mathura, India, second century CE. Red sandstone, 2’ 3 1/2” high. Archaeological Museum, Muttra.

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Figure 6-12 Seated Buddha preaching first sermon, from Sarnath, India, second half of fifth century. Tan sandstone, 5’ 3” high. Archaeological Museum, Sarnath.

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Figure 6-14 Bodhisattva Padmapani, wall painting in Cave 1, Ajanta, India, second half of fifth century.

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Philosophy of Hinduism

• Polytheistic• Infinite variety of the divine – in gods, in

nature, in humans.• Vedic texts are sacred texts• Caste system – Brahmins – ritual specialists

linking gods to humans• Good life through prayer, deeds, devotion to

break cycle of reincarnationIconography:o Shiva = destruction & rebirtho Brahma = creatoro Vishnu = preservero Consort goddesses = peaceful

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Characteristics of Hindu Art

Architecture:• Temple is residence of god• Small inner cella – Womb of the World• Sacred statue there• Prefer corbelled vaults for cave feel• Hypostyle antechamber/hall• Larger complex• Regional – N more vertical on high

pedestals, S bigger complexes/cities• Outside covered w/ sculpture, crowding

over every surface

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Characteristics of Hindu ArtPainting:• Miniatures of watercolor on paper to

illuminate books• Rajput School – specialized in myths

legends, life of Krishna• Portraits• Crowded, colorful• Tilted perspective• Floral patterns• Small figures, large landscapesSculpture:• Integrated w/ architecture• Divine couples (mithuna)• Curves, lines of body – dance poses common• Organic, geometric designs; flowers, bells• God images inside temples – rarely seen

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Figure 6-15 Boar avatar of Vishnu rescuing the earth, Cave 5, Udayagiri, India, early fifth century. Relief approx 22’ X 13’; Vishnu 12’ 8” high.

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Figure 6-16 Dancing Shiva, rock-cut relief in cave temple, Badami, India, late sixth century.

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Figure 6-17 Shiva as Mahadeva, Cave 1, Elephanta, India, ca. 550–575. Basalt, Shiva 17’ 10” high.

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Figure 6-18 Vishnu Temple, Deogarh, India, early sixth century.

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Figure 6-19 Vishnu asleep on the serpent Ananta, detail of facade of the Vishnu Temple, Deogarh, India, early sixth century.

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Figure 6-20 Rock-cut temples, Mamallapuram, India, second half of seventh century. From left to right: Dharmaraja, Bhima, Arjuna, and Draupadi rathas.

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Figure 6-21 Rajarajeshvara Temple, Thanjavur, India, ca. 1010

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Figure 6-22 Vishvanatha Temple, Khajuraho, India, ca. 1000. (View looking northwest and plan).

30Figure 6-23 Sculptures on temple wall, Vishvanatha Temple, Khajuraho, India, ca. 1000.

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Figure 6-24 Shiva as Nataraja, bronze in the Naltunai Ishvaram Temple, Punjai, India, ca. 1000.

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Figure 6-25 Death of the Buddha (Parinirvana), Gal Vihara, near Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka, eleventh to twelfth century. Granulite, Buddha approx. 46’ long.

33Figure 6-26 Borobudur, Java, Indonesia, ca. 800.

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Figure 6-29 Angkor Wat, Angkor, Cambodia, first half of twelfth century.

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Figure 6-31 Bayon, Angkor Thom, Cambodia, ca. 1200.

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Figure 25-1 Qutb Minar, begun early thirteenth century, and Alai Darvaza, 1311, Delhi, India.

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Figure 25-2 Lotus Mahal, Vijayanagara, India, 15th or early 16th century.

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Mughal Painting

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Figure 25-3 BASAWAN and CHATAR MUNI, Akbar and the Elephant Hawai, folio 22 from the Akbarnama (History of Akbar) by Abul Fazl, ca. 1590. Opaque watercolor on paper, 13 7/8” X 8 3/4”. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

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Figure 25-4 BICHITR, Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaykh to Kings, ca. 1615–1618. Opaque watercolor on paper, 1’ 6 7/8” x 1’ 1”. Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

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Mughal Architecture

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Figure 25-5 Taj Mahal, Agra, India, 1632–1647.

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Outside India

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Figure 25-11 Emerald Buddha, Emerald Temple, Bangkok, Thailand, 15th century. Jade or jasper, 2’ 6” high.

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Figure 25-12 Schwedagon Pagoda, Rangoon (Yangon), Burma (Myanmar), 14th century or earlier (rebuilt several times). Stupa, gold, silver, and jewel encrusted, approx. 344’ high. Top of stupa, gold ball inlaid with 4,351 diamonds.

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Figure 25-14 MEERA MUKHERJEE, Ashoka at Kalinga, 1972. Bronze, 11’ 6 3/4” high. Maurya Sheraton Hotel, New Delhi.