Art of India & Southeast Asia

Interconnected architecture, painting, sculpture, culture, and philosophies

of Hinduism and Buddhism

Philosophy & Religion in Daily Life in India

• http://kaladarshan.arts.ohio-state.edu/Exhibitions/meetgod/indx.htm

• Interconnectiveness of all Indian arts

• Folk art traditions of painting, symbolism

• Temples and religious festivals (Hindu and Buddhist) major events

India: Historical Background

• Fertile Indus & Ganges Valley

• Invasion & assimilations

• 18 official languages in India

• Arts play critical role in Indian life

• Uniformity of style in Indian monuments

• Buddhism & Hinduism major religions (also Jain, Christianity, Islam, etc.)

MAURYA PERIOD

Ashokan Pillar (note capital) 265 BCE

Ashokan legend:

Expanding dynasty, WAR conquered much of India.

Looked at battlefield horror; 1000s of dead and dying, … saw Buddhist monk slowly walking through praying & comforting dying.

Vowed to spread the teachings of Buddhism.. Built many shrines, sculptures, etc as major patron of the arts.

Lion Capital, from Sarmath

C 250 BCE, sandstone

Archaeological Museum, Sarnath

•Seven foot capital from a column along pilgrimage route to see Buddhist holy sites

•Bell shaped bottom of capital is inverted lotus blossum

•Frieze of 4 wheels and 4 animals: lion, horse, elephant, bull; wheels symbolize Buddha’s Law

•Four lions - PERSIAN INFLUENCE (Persepolis)

•Repetitive, eatern style patterns of manes

Columns represented Axis Mundi, axis of the world that joins earth with heaven

Lion Capital, from Sarmath

C 250 BCE, sandstone

See Lion Capital from Persepolis below….

This was on top of a column like the one below from Ashoka.

Buddhist shrine, mound shape, faced with dressed stone, replication of the dome of heaven

•3 umbrellas at top represent Buddha, Buddha’s Law, Monks

•Railing at crest surrounds “sacred tree” umbrellas

•Walkway around drum for circumambulation (cosmic circle)

•4 toranas grace entrances… richly carved scenes, Buddha shown as empty throne with high relief sculptures

•Plan based on sacred mandala design

Great Stupa at Sanchi, India - 3rd Century BCE (flashcard)

Stupas were built with a dome or shikhara/vimana tower with a central axis, axis mundi

Mound shaped shrine, often no interior; holds a relic… idea is worshippers get close to what’s inside. Original stupas (8 by Emperor Ashoka) held Buddha’s remains

Umbrellas represent the 3 jewels of Buddhism - Buddha, Law, Community of Monks

Four toranas at compass pts. Gateway to structure--walk around in a circle

Close up of a torana at Sanchi

Richly carved scenes

High relief sculptures known as horror vacui

Originally painted white.

Buddha not shown in this early temple, empty chair/throne.

Yakshi personified water…

Student presentation on life of Buddha

Class takes notes

Buddha & Buddhism

• Buddha lived around 500 BCE • “The Enlightened One” (not a deity)• Achieved nirvana = enlightenment;

liberation from material world• Cyclical nature of existence• Rejected class structures of Vedic

society

Buddhist Religion

• Shakyamuni Buddha from Nepal

• Siddartha, child prince, shielded from pain & suffering

• Left palace at age 29, travelled, meditated,

• Samsara: cycle of birth, death, rebirth

• Nirvana: ultimate enlightenment

• Compassion and learning are KEYs.

• Different buddhas are recognized

• Bodhisattvas - help others reach enlightenment

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Dalai Lama, leader of Tibetan Buddhism and Nobel Peace prize winner

Standing Buddha, Gandhara Period, 2nd century CE

Flashcard

•Hellenistic style drapery

•Artistic conventions - top knot (ushnisha), patterned hair curls, impression of wheel (chakra) on hands and feet,

•Long arms, serene face

Mudras = hand gestures (student presentation here)

Have a meaning in religious practices, prayers, etc. as well as seen in Buddhist artwork

Used in yoga poses outside Buddhism as well

Dhyana mudra = meditation and balance

Bodhisattva from Ajanta Caves

475 CE

Gupta period.

Bodhisattvas are spiritual beings who help others reach nirvana.

Princely garments, not monk’s robes like Buddha

Outline drawing, softly graded tones in painting give some 3-dimensionality

Synthesis of divine and human.

Standing Buddha from Gupta period

474 CE

Gupta period - flourishing arts & literature

Buddhism at peak in India (later surpassed by Hinduism)

Halo/nimbus (broken) shows spirtual purity fused with simplified physical purity

Introspective face

Student presentation on Hinduism and Hindu Art

Class takes notes

Shiva as Nataraja,

Chola Dynasty, 12th cent ce

flashcard

•Representative of Hinduism

•Dance of Shiva - graceful, multiple aspects of deity

•Universe cycle of death and rebirth

•4 arms

•Circle of fire shows destruction of samsara and our ego centered perceptions

•Drum = rhythm of creation, birth, death

•Synthesis of divine and human

Hinduism and Hindu Temples

• Began during post Gupta period

• Many gods and goddesses; local shrines in villages

• Hindu temples built on mandala design

• Womb chambers

• Belief that deity is present in image (statue)

• Individual devotion, not group worship

Eternal Shiva from Cave Temple of Shiva at Elephanta

3 faces show 3 different sides

Feminine protector

Spiritual, strong leader

Fierce fighter with snakes around neck

11 feet high, set in recessed niche

Shiva often shown with multiple heads, arms, etc to show multiple sides of a deity

Example of Hindu temple in south India, Chola dynasty, 1000 CE

Rajarajeshvara Temple to Shiva

Each niche holds a statue of Shiva

Vimana is 4 sided hollow pyramid rising 13 stories

Angkor Wat, Cambodia, 12th century CE flashcard

Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu;

Sculptural reliefs, sculpture in rhythmic dance poses

Built by Suryavaran II, capital of medieval Cambodia,

Corbelled gallery roofs; beehive

Battle Scene, relief sculpture

From Angkor Vat temple

12th century Cambodia

•Symmetrical design - typical Islamic large arch with 2 smaller arches

•Intricate inlays- floral & geometric designs, subtle design

•Square plan with chamfered corners

Taj Mahal, Agra, India flashcard 17th century CE

“Crown Palace” built to serve as Mumtaz Mahal’s tomb; she died while having her 14th child with Shah Jahan

•Onion shape dome

•Funerary gardens

•Minarets act like picture frame

Student presentations on Rangoli ‘folk” painting &

Rajput school painting

Class takes notes

Rangoli and Alapana Painting - traditions carried on by women

Entire houses, doorways, or verandahs painted in geometric designs in paint, rice powder, or even flowers (mandalas)

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Indian Watercolor Painting

• Strong tradition of opaque watercolors on paper

• Outlining, but subtly modeled sahdes

• Hindu gods such as Krishna often subjects (he is usually blue)

• Mughal school fostered painting traditions

Mughal school of minatures - developed during middle ages

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Hamza’s Spies Scale the Fortress,

Mughal Period (16th century)

Gouache on cotton (opaque w.c.)

3- d setting, yet undercut by flat geometric patterns

Robust naturalistic style (not so linear)

Rocks, monkeys, birds, and more

FLASHCARD

Fusion of Indian and Persia styles

Also painting on paper… burnished on stones to make it gleam, details added last with thick white paint

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Krishna and the Gopis, from the Gita Govinda (epic poem about Krishna and Radha) Mughal Period, Rajput India. 16th century, gouche on paper (flashcard)

Radha is jealous of Krishna and the Gopis (cowherds) .. Emotional tension.. Plump faces in profile with oversized frontal eyes…line & pattern in the dramatic scene.

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Buddhist Mandala Tradition

• Buddhist monks traditionally make mandalas out of sand.

• Mystical Arts of Tibet

Check out this video

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9piFA7MCmbQ

Mandalas & Cultural/Religious

• Used for healing

• Used to promote peace

• Symbols reflect Buddhist traditions

• This type of mandala is temporary (like beauty)

Mandalas in many cultures

• Navajo Aztec

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