Buddhism flourished significantly throughout the early Christian era (1st and 2nd centuries) and sparked a revitalized artistic fervor to represent Buddha's message, resulting in the formation of three primary schools of sculpture in India, each with its styles and characteristics. The Gandhara, Mathura, and Amaravati schools of art were named for the cities where they flourished. This article will explain to you the concepts related to the Mathura, Gandhara, Amaravati Schools which will be helpful in Indian Art and Culture preparation for the UPSC Civil service exam.

Mathura School of Art

• Initially, a complicated kind of symbolism was prevalent in the Gandhara style, but Mathura style broke from it by developing the custom of translating Buddhist symbols into human form in accordance with Kanishka's rule.
• An indigenous form of sculpture evolved in Mathura, which mostly used red sandstone.
• The representations of Vaishnava and Shaiva faiths, as well as Buddhist images, are prevalent in the Mathura style, which is known for its assimilative quality.
• The pictures of Siva and Vishnu, as well as their consorts Parvathi and Lakshmi, were carved out in the Mathura school, and the female forms of yakshinis and apsaras were also carved out magnificently.
• It's worth noting that the images of Shiva and Vishnu were created by their respective ayudhas (weapons).
• The Jain Tirthankaras' records can also be found in Mathura Style.
• Sarnath and Kausambi arose as key centers of art creation in the Mathura School of art, which is known for its vibrancy and assimilationist nature, although Mathura remained the principal art production location.
• The Mathura Buddha images continue to depict folds in the drapery and the halo around the head is lavishly adorned.
• More emphasis was placed on internal beauty and face sentiments in Mathura style than on bodily gestures.
• The big pictures were carved with audacity since the earliest Mathura image-makers never intended to construct an anatomically realistic human Buddha.

Mathura school of art

Gandhara School of art

• During the rule of Indo-Greek monarchs in Northwest India, the Gandhara School of art flourished near Peshawar (now Pakistan), although the Sakas and Kushanas, particularly Kanishka, were the true supporters of the Gandhara school of art.
• Following the Greek invasions, many painters from West Asia settled in the north-west of India, and they were heavily affected by Graeco-Roman art throughout the Kushana period.
• The Kushana kings, particularly Kanishka, encouraged Gandhara artisans to carve themes from Buddha's life and the jatakas, resulting in a huge number of Buddha and Bodhisattva representations.
• The Gandhara School of Art is also known as the Graeco-Buddhist School of Art because it applied Greek art techniques to Buddhist subjects (beautiful pictures of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas).
• Gandhara style acquired almost all foreign influences, including Greek, Roman, Persian, Saka, and Kushan.
• The reliefs of the Gandhara Sculpture show Buddha's birth, renunciation, and preaching, with the best examples dating from the first and second centuries A.D.
• The drapery was thick, with broad and bold fold lines, and the human form was cast in a realistic manner, with physical details like a moustache, muscles, and curly hair given minute attention.
• The main sites where artworks of the Gandhara School have been found are Jalalabad, Begram, Hadda, Bamaran, and Taxila, with the Bamiyan Buddha of Afghanistan considered an example of the Gandhara School.

Gandhara school of art

Amaravati school of art

• The Amaravati School evolved on the banks of the Krishna River in southern India, under the patronage of the Satavahana monarchs.
• The Amaravati School of Art thrived in the Andhra Pradesh region between the lower basins of the rivers Krishna and Godavari.
• The 'narrative art' is a prominent feature of the Amaravati school.
• The medallions were carved in such a way that they depict a natural incidence.
• One medallion, for example, depicts the entire account of the Buddha's taming of an elephant.
• The Amravati stupas are made of striking white marble.
• In human, animal, and floral forms, Amaravati sculptures have a sense of movement and vitality, as well as profound and serene naturalism.
• Amravati, Nagarjunikonda, Goli, Ghantasala, and Vengi are notable locales where this style evolved.
• There is a symbolic picture of Buddha's life, but he is also personified in two or three places.
• The Amaravati Stupa, like the Sanchi Stupa, contains pradakshina patha encased within a vedika on which various narrative stories from the life of Buddha and bodhisattva prevail, but its structural anatomy is more intricate.
• This style included both religious and secular images.
• This style was later influenced by Pallava and Chola architecture.

Buddha's taming of an elephant - Amaravati school of Art

Major differences between Mathura-Gandhara-Amaravati school of art

Sarnath school of Art

• The Sarnath School of Sculpture arose around Sarnath.
• It was distinguished by its use of cream-colored sandstone and metal. This school's sculptures were meticulously dressed and devoid of any type of nakedness.
• Many Buddha pictures in Sarnath have plain translucent drapery covering both shoulders and a sparsely ornamented halo around the head, whereas the Mathura Buddha images retain the folds of the drapery and the halo around the head is lavishly embellished.
• Sultanganj Buddha is a notable example (7.5ft in height).

Sarnath school of art

Conclusion

India's art is a one-of-a-kind chapter in the history of human endeavor. It reveals the human mind's darkest recesses and serves as a mirror for the Indian spirit. In the many beautiful achievements, India's creative brilliance has found complete and perfect expression in its spiritual and religious dimensions.