The Gandhara art flourished during the Kushana rule in India.
Particularly Kanishka, the greatest of the Kushanas was a great patron of art
and architecture. It was during his reign that Gandhara School of art
flourished. The new Gandhara style of art that developed in sculpture was a
fusion of Greco-Roman and Indian styles.
The characteristic features of the Gandhara School of art
was
(1) The subject was Indian .
(2) The form of art was foreign.
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The Gandhara sculptors made images of Lord Buddha in the Greco-Roman
style. The images of Buddha
resembled Greek God Apollo.
- Ajanta
is famous for both of its architectural design as also the paintings
on the cave-walls.
- Of
the 29 caves in all 16 contained paintings which have survived.
- Though
the Ajanta is as old as 1st century AD, most of the specimens belong to
the Gupta Age.
- In
the paintings decorative designs have been executed with masterly skill.
What are the main differences between
Mathura School of Art and Gandhara School of Art?
Gandhara School of art -
- Theme is
mainly Buddhist, depicting various stories from the life of Buddha.
- Also, more
stress is given to the bodily features and external beaty.
- Sculptures
were made initially on stone and later on Stucco, both grey in
color.
- This school is
influenced by Greeco-Roman techniques to a greater extent.
- One of the
reason is definitely the geographical location of the school.
- Gandhara
school was heavily influenced by Greek methodologies, the figures were
more spiritual and sculpted mainly in grey, and great detail was paid to
exact depiction of body parts.
Mathura school of art -
- Theme may vary
from Buddhist to Brahmanical to sometimes secular.
- More stress is
given to the inner beauty and facial emotions rather than bodily gesture.
- Sculptures
were made on White-spotted red stones.
- These were not
influenced by Greeco-Roman techniques to that extent.
- Several
Brahmanical Dieties were first crystallized by this school.
- For the
Mathura school, the material was red sandstone, and they were depicted as
more human and less spiritual. It was wholly influenced by Indian
sculptures.
