art of south and southeast asia before 1200 · 8/6/2012 · temple . buddhist art - not 1 but many...
TRANSCRIPT
Art of South and Southeast Asia Before 1200
Stupa and early Buddhist sculpture, narrative style and
tribhanga pose
Early iconography of the Buddha: from symbols to icon
Buddhist Cave
Shrines of Ajanta and Bodhisattva fresco
Hindu sculpture and
architecture: iconography of Shiva, and Northern Shiva
Temple
Buddhist art
- Not 1 but many Buddhisms
- Originated in what is today India, then spread throughout Asia - In early forms (Theravada
Buddhism, 5th cent.BCE), Buddha is a man.
- As the religion changes (Mahayana Buddhism 1st cent. CE), Buddha is deified
- Doctrine of the Middle Way: avoid both pursuit of worldly desires and severe, ascetic discipline
------------- Image1 ------------- Field Data Collection Digital Media Collection Work Record ID img006186 Work Type - Category monument Title Great Stupa Source Stokstad 2nd Ed. Description Originally built by King Ashoka, enlarged circa 150 - 50 BCE. Stupas - religious monuments enclosing a relic chamber - fundamental to Buddhism Display Date 3rd Century BCE Date Type Date.Beginning Location Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh Location India ID Number Type chapter, plate ID Number 9-8 Style/Period Term Maurya Culture Buddhism Subject religious monument Image ID 5001239 Resolution Size 6 Format JP2 Media Type Image File Name 9-8.jp2 Width 3445 Height 2218
Great Stupa, Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh, India. Founded 3rd century BCE, enlarged c. 150-50 BCE, c. 60 feet diameter, h. 25 feet. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6VUT2v6rUs
railing
4 toranas at cardinal points
Plan = diagram of the cosmos
Axis mundi, (connection Cosmic Waters-Celestial realm)
SAMSARA
------------- Image1 ------------- Field Data Collection Digital Media Collection Work Record ID img006187 Work Type - Category architectural element Title East Torana of the Great Stupa Display Measurement 35 feet Material stone Source Stokstad 2nd Ed. Description one of four stone gateways punctuating the 11 ft tall stone railing ringing the entire Stupa, four cardinal directions symbolizing the Buddhist cosmos Display Date mid 1st Century BCE Location Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh Location India ID Number Type chapter, plate ID Number 9-9 Style/Period Term Andhra Culture Buddhist Subject religious symbolism Image ID 5001240 Resolution Size 6 Format JP2 Media Type Image File Name 9-9.jp2 Width 2337 Height 3176
Early Life, East Torana,mid 1st Century BCE, stone
Artistic conventions?
- “open” registers
- Rounded volumes
- Tribhanga pose:(tri-bent pose) oppositely curved at neck, waist, knee, the most graceful/sensual
Yakshi (fertility goddess) East Torana,mid 1st Century BCE, stone
Standing Parvati, Chola period (ca. 860–1279), Tamil Nadu, India http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/57.51.3
Seated Buddha 1st to mid-2nd century, Pakistan (ancient region of Gandhara), Bronze with traces of gold leaf, H. 6 5/8 in.
1st cent. CE: earliest images of Buddha
Mahayana Buddhism (more social) ! need of worshippers to establish relationship, Buddha substitutes the STUPA
Iconography:
- monk’s robe,
- yogic posture,
- Bulge on top of the head = spirituality
- Halo: light (Buddhahood = enlightenment)
Contacts with Roman art (halo to represent Emperor, Roman toga)
right hand in abhaya mudra (a gesture of approachability and reassurance)
------------- Image1 ------------- Field Data Collection Digital Media Collection Work Record ID 22933 Work Type - Category sculpture Title Standing Buddha Display Measurement h: 7 ft. 6 in. Material schist Source Stokstad 2nd Ed. Creator Name unknown Display Date circa CE 2nd-3rd century Repository Lahore, Pakistan, Lahore Museum Location Pakistan Location India ID Number 1179 ID Number Type chapter, plate ID Number 9-13 Style/Period Term Kushan Image ID 5000451 Resolution Size 6 Format JP2 Media Type Image File Name 22933.jp2 Width 1511 Height 3274
Standing Buddha Offering Protection, Gupta period, late 5th century, India (Uttar Pradesh, Mathura) , Red sandstone, H. 33 11/16 in.
Frontal pose, Well-placed flat-footed feet, Feet well set on the ground, Body frame tall and straight, Arms that reach to the knees when standing, Genitalia withdrawn, Hairs on the head and arranged in soft curls that point to the right, Hairs of the body point upwards, Skin smooth and delicate, broad hands, Broad neck, Torso like a lion, Shoulders gently curved, Chest wide, Body circumference has proportions of a fig tree, 40 teeth rather than the normal 32, Long eyelashes, A bump on the top of the head, Elongated ears and earlobes, The Wheel of Law
Buddhist Cave shrines
Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra India, 1st cent BCE - 5th Cent. CE http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/242/video http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/242/video
------------- Image1 ------------- Field Data Collection Digital Media Collection Work Record ID img006188 Work Type - Category wall painting Title Type popular title Title Bodhisattva Material fresco Technique fresco Source Stokstad 2nd Ed. Description Detail of mural in Cave 1. Display Date circa 475 CE Location - City Ajanta Location - State or Province Maharashtra Location - Country India ID Number Type chapter, plate ID Number 9-17 Style/Period Term Gupta Culture Buddhist Subject religious Image ID 5001231 Resolution Size 6 Format JP2 Media Type Image File Name 9-17.jp2 Width 2224 Height 3357
Bodhisattva 475 CE Detail of mural in Cave 1 Ajanta fresco, Gupta period
- Bodhisattva as prince
- Bodhisattvas postpone the nirvana to help others achieve Buddhahood
FORMAL?
tri-bent pose, clear outline, hieratic scale, overlapping, modeling
Modeling/chiaroscuro: in painting, the process of creating the illusion of volumes’ three-dimensionality by use of light and shade
SUBJECT MATTER:
- Hinduism increasingly popular (as opposed to Budd.) during the Gupta period
- But more ancient origins (no single founder or prophet); Based on Vedas texts (1200-800 BCE) mixed with many local beliefs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX85uiG86RA
------------- Image1 ------------- Field Data Collection Digital Media Collection Work Record ID 22934 Work Type - Category sculpture Title Shiva Nataraja Display Measurement h: 81.25 cm Material bronze Source Stokstad 2nd Ed. Creator Name unknown Display Date 12th century CE Repository New Delhi, India, National Museum Location Thanjavur Location India ID Number 1179 ID Number Type chapter, plate ID Number 9-28 Image ID 5001361 Resolution Size 6 Format JP2 Media Type Image File Name 22934.jp2 Width 2243 Height 3389
Shiva Nataraja, 11th cent CE, bronze, ca. 27�, Metropolitan Museum
Shiva: Lord of Existence, embodies the universe & represents creative energy
Often depicted as Lord of the Dance Cosmic dance is the symbolic cycle of death/rebirth, destruction/creation
Composition: symmetry + a-symmetry, static + dynamic, frontal + profile " opposites
iconography:
Dances on the body of a dwarf symbolizing �becoming�
------------- Image1 ------------- Field Data Collection Scholars Resource Collection Title Kandariya Mahadeva Temple Date ca. 1025 CE Classification Architecture Work Type built works Style/Period Candella Materials Display sandstone Current Site Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, India Image Catalog Number Kia-0887 Image View Total, view NNE Photographer Dr. Ronald V. Wiedenhoeft Vendor Saskia, Ltd. Description The Kandariya Mahadeva Temple, located in the western temple complex and dedicated to Shiva, is generally attributed to the reign of the Chandella king Vidyadhara (r. ca. 1017-1029). This temple is both the largest in scale and the grandest in conception of the Khajuraho temples. The great multi-spired tower of the sekhari-type, the most conspicious feature of the north Indian (nagara) temple, is characterized by an ascending cluster of subsidiary spires reflecting the idea of the temple as mountain. The temple shares a high platform (jagati) with the smaller Devi Jagadambi temple, which is situated to its north, as well as a smaller shrine between them, known as the Mahadeva temple. Similar to the Lakshmana and Vishvanatha temples, this temple is arranged on an east-west axis, consisting of an entrance porch (mukha-mandapa) and two halls (mandapas) with balconies (bhadravalokana), a vestibule (antarala) and sanctum (garbhagriha). It is a sandhara temple-type in which an enclosed ambulatory passage with projecting balconies surrounds the sanctum. The temple is lavishly carved with statuary, including erotic couples that have been variously interpreted as depictions of Tantric cult practices or as illustrations of ancient texts on erotics, such as the Kama sutra. Image ID 140885 Resolution Size 5 Format JP2 Media Type Image File Name kia0887.jp2 Width 2048 Height 2538
Northern Temple: Kandariya Mahdeva
Temple, Madhya Pradesh, India, c. 1000
CE, dedicated to Shiva
tp://www.youtube.com/user/
AsianArtMuseum#p/u/47/
circumambulation
------------- Image1 ------------- Field Data Collection Scholars Resource Collection Title Kandariya Mahadeva Temple Date ca. 1025 CE Classification Architecture Work Type built works Style/Period Candella Materials Display sandstone Current Site Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, India Image Catalog Number Kia-0887 Image View Total, view NNE Photographer Dr. Ronald V. Wiedenhoeft Vendor Saskia, Ltd. Description The Kandariya Mahadeva Temple, located in the western temple complex and dedicated to Shiva, is generally attributed to the reign of the Chandella king Vidyadhara (r. ca. 1017-1029). This temple is both the largest in scale and the grandest in conception of the Khajuraho temples. The great multi-spired tower of the sekhari-type, the most conspicious feature of the north Indian (nagara) temple, is characterized by an ascending cluster of subsidiary spires reflecting the idea of the temple as mountain. The temple shares a high platform (jagati) with the smaller Devi Jagadambi temple, which is situated to its north, as well as a smaller shrine between them, known as the Mahadeva temple. Similar to the Lakshmana and Vishvanatha temples, this temple is arranged on an east-west axis, consisting of an entrance porch (mukha-mandapa) and two halls (mandapas) with balconies (bhadravalokana), a vestibule (antarala) and sanctum (garbhagriha). It is a sandhara temple-type in which an enclosed ambulatory passage with projecting balconies surrounds the sanctum. The temple is lavishly carved with statuary, including erotic couples that have been variously interpreted as depictions of Tantric cult practices or as illustrations of ancient texts on erotics, such as the Kama sutra. Image ID 140885 Resolution Size 5 Format JP2 Media Type Image File Name kia0887.jp2 Width 2048 Height 2538
Northern Temple: Kandariya Mahdeva Temple, Madhya Pradesh,
India, c. 1000 CE, dedicated to Shiva