Mains Marathon

Approach

• Write briefly introducing the three schools.
• Mention the main features of the sculptures of Mathura, Amravati and Sarnath Schools.
• Conclude by giving the significance of this sculpture art.

Answer

Different schools of sculpture emerged and the art of sculpture reached its climax in the post-Mauryan period. The first century CE onwards, Mathura in northern India and Vengi in Andhra Pradesh emerged as important centres of art production. Buddha in the symbolic form got a human form in Mathura, Amravati and Gandhara. The local sculptural tradition at Mathura became so strong that the tradition spread to other parts of northern India. The best example in this regard is the stupa sculptures found at Sanghol in the Punjab.

The different features of these schools are:

	Gandhara	Mathura	Amravati	Sarnath
1.	High influence of helenistic and greek art features.	Indigenous in nature	Indigenous in nature	Indigenous
2.	Grey-sandstone is used. (we also find images made of stucco with lime plaster)	Spotted red sandstone	White Marble	Cream colour Sandstone
3.	Mainly Buddhist images are found	Buddhism, Jainism and hindu images are found	Mainly Buddhism	Mainly Buddhism
4.	Patron-Kushana	Kushana	Shatavahanas	Gupta Dynasty
5.	Found in north-west India	North india. Mainly region of Mathura	Deccan region near Krishna-godavari delta.	Sarnath, Bihar
6.	Spiritual Buddha images, Very stylish with wavy hair	Delighted Buddha and not spiritual look	Mainly depicts stories of jatakas	Many Buddha images in Sarnath have plain transparent drapery covering both shoulders, and the halo around the head has very little ornamentation.
7.	Has beard and moustache	No beard and moustache
8.	Lean body	Strong muscular feature
9.	Both seated and standing images are found	Most of them are seated
10.	Eyes are half closed and ears are large	Eyes are open with small Ears

All these art schools were mostly inspired by religion and have left behind a rich heritage. The Art of India constitutes a unique chapter in the history of human endeavour. It unveils the deepest recesses of the human mind and offers a mirror to the Indian soul. The spiritual and religious dimensions of India’s creative genius have found full and perfect expression in the myriad aesthetic creations.