DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.45392#0423
Graeco-Buddhist Sculpture
the standing Buddha figures of Amaravati. In these
austere images the moral grandeur of the Nibbana ideal
finds its own direct expression in monumental forms,
free of all irrelevant statement or striving for effect, and
these are prototypes that are repeated in all subsequent
hieratic Buddhist art.
Grceco-Buddhist Sculpture
From these works we must return to a consideration of the
slightly earlier, better known and far more abundant art of
Gandhara, generally called ‘ Grseco-Buddhist.’ This art
is so called because, apart from the seated Buddha form,
which must of course be wholly Indian, the leading types
of the Buddhist pantheon—viz. the standing Buddha
figure, the reclining type, the figures of Bodhisattvas and
of other Buddhist divinities, as well as the types of com-
position of some of the scenes of the Buddha’s life, and
likewise certain details of architectural ornament, are either
directly based upon or strongly influenced by Graeco-Roman
prototypes. Gandhara art is in fact a phase of provincial
Roman art, mixed with Indian elements, and adapted to
the illustration of Buddhist legends. The influence of the
western forms on all later Indian and Chinese Buddhist
art is clearly traceable: but the actual art of Gandhara
gives the impression of profound insincerity, for the com-
placent expression and somewhat foppish costume of the
Bodhisattvas, and the effeminate and listless gesture of
the Buddha figures (Plate AA) but faintly express the
spiritual energy of Buddhist thought. From the western
point of view also the art must be regarded as even more
decadent than that of Roman art within the Roman Empire:
for truly, “ in the long sands and flats of Roman realism
the stream of Greek inspiration was lost for ever,” and
329
the standing Buddha figures of Amaravati. In these
austere images the moral grandeur of the Nibbana ideal
finds its own direct expression in monumental forms,
free of all irrelevant statement or striving for effect, and
these are prototypes that are repeated in all subsequent
hieratic Buddhist art.
Grceco-Buddhist Sculpture
From these works we must return to a consideration of the
slightly earlier, better known and far more abundant art of
Gandhara, generally called ‘ Grseco-Buddhist.’ This art
is so called because, apart from the seated Buddha form,
which must of course be wholly Indian, the leading types
of the Buddhist pantheon—viz. the standing Buddha
figure, the reclining type, the figures of Bodhisattvas and
of other Buddhist divinities, as well as the types of com-
position of some of the scenes of the Buddha’s life, and
likewise certain details of architectural ornament, are either
directly based upon or strongly influenced by Graeco-Roman
prototypes. Gandhara art is in fact a phase of provincial
Roman art, mixed with Indian elements, and adapted to
the illustration of Buddhist legends. The influence of the
western forms on all later Indian and Chinese Buddhist
art is clearly traceable: but the actual art of Gandhara
gives the impression of profound insincerity, for the com-
placent expression and somewhat foppish costume of the
Bodhisattvas, and the effeminate and listless gesture of
the Buddha figures (Plate AA) but faintly express the
spiritual energy of Buddhist thought. From the western
point of view also the art must be regarded as even more
decadent than that of Roman art within the Roman Empire:
for truly, “ in the long sands and flats of Roman realism
the stream of Greek inspiration was lost for ever,” and
329