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Early Art Beyond Europe
Summary
•Themes
•Styles/characteristics
•Subject matter
•Purpose
•Media
Chapter 6: Paths to Enlightenment: The Ancient
Art of South and Southeast Asia
• The Indus civilization in the Indus River valley in present-day Pakistan
and India had its formative phase from 5500-2500BCE
• The urban phase ca.2500-1700BCE is contemporary with the Old-New
Kingdoms in Egypt and the Royal Cemetery in Ur and the Stele of
Hammurabi in the Ancient Near East in Mesopotamia; but there are no
temples or palaces yet found from the period.
• Buddha (Enlightened One), Siddhartha Gautama, c.563-483BCE, was born
in India
• Hinduism (the religion of the Indians) is the dominant religion in India
today; it has no founder or prophet; ritual sacrifice by priests is central to
its practice
• Both religions began to represent deities in human form 1st c.BCE-1st c.CE
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stupa: a large, mound-shaped Buddhist shrine
yakshis: female goddesses signifying fertility and vegetation
yakshas: powerful male equivalent of yakshis
circumambulation: walking clockwise, body’s right faces
monument
torana: gateway in the stone fence around a stupa, located at
the cardinal points of the compass
reliquary: a container for keeping relics
mandala: sacred diagram of the universe
mandorla: a circular shape (may be oval, pointed, etc.) that
suggests incandescence signifying a spiritual glow; a nimbus
signifying divinity
nirvana: the state of being free from suffering; literally means
“blowing out”, as in blowing out the fires of greed, hatred, and
delusion
Buddhism: Siddhartha Gautama
563-483 BCE was the oldest son of a king who was
prophesied to become a world conqueror or a great religious leader; so his father wanted to
groom him to become king by sheltering him from hardships; at 29 he abandoned his family
and renounced his opulent lifestyle and encountered suffering-old age, sickness, death- out in
the world; he sought knowledge, meditated and achieved enlightenment, becoming known as
Shakyamuni (Wise Man of the Shakya Clan) Buddha; in his first sermon he set in motion the
Wheel (chakra) of the Law (dharma) and taught the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold path
of right understanding; this path would lead to nirvana, the endless cycle of birth, death, and
rebirth (a blissful state acquired by absorption of the individual soul or consciousness into the
supreme spirit); he preached until he died at the age of 80; his disciples continued his teachings
and established monasteries where other could follow Buddha’s path to enlightenment and
nirvana; Buddha is not a god, but one who sees the ultimate nature of the world and is no
longer subject to samsara, the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.
Highlights of Buddha’s life:
1. Birth
2. 4 encounters: sick man, poor man,
beggar, corpse
3. Renunciation of worldly life
4. 6 yrs of austerity
5. Enlightenment beneath pipal tree
6. Defeat of Mara (evil one)
7. Teachings (at left)
8. Death (reaches nirvana-bliss)
Four Noble Truths:
Eightfold Path
1. Life is suffering
2. The cause of suffering
is ignorance/desire
3. Ignorance/desire can
be overcome
4. Overcome by the
eightfold path (at right)
1.Right view
2.Right resolve
3.Right speech
4.Right action
5.Right livelihood
6.Right Effort
7.Right Mindfulness
8.Right Concentration
Great Stupa, Sanchi, India, c.200BCE, Maurya Period, 50’H, Sanchi was a Buddhist
monastery founded during Ashoka’s reign; consists of many buildings built through the
centuries; stupa dome is solid and filled with earth and rubble, and includes a double
stairway on the south side leading to an upper level walkway; the 3 parasol-like structures
on top represent the heavenly hierarchy; relics of Buddha and important monks were
buried in the stupa; symbolic meanings transform it into a model of the cosmos;
The circular (mandala) plan
represents the wheel of life and
death; the egg-shaped mound
symbolizes the World Egg that
supports and is covered by the
heavens; the mound rests on a
platform aligned to the cardinal
points representing the axis of the
earth holding up heaven; each
point has its own gateway with
symbolic relief carvings; inside
the gates are the railings
encircling the path of ritual
circumambulation to achieve
purity.
Yakshi on the eastern gateway
of the Great Stupa; stories of
Buddha’s life and past lives are
told on the gates; this erotic
goddess figure holds the mango
tree in a gesture representing
fertility; Buddha’s mother is
often represented as such;
Buddha is represented symbolically by
footprints, wheels, thrones, trees and
other inanimate objects at the Great
Stupa.
Why no images of the Buddha himself?
Perhaps because he achieved
enlightenment and had been freed from
the confines of the body;
Later, he is represented in human form,
first as a robed monk; he is distinguished
from actual monks and bodhisattvas by
lakshanas or characteristics indicating his
superhuman nature; they include a curl of
hair between the eyebrows shown as a
dot; a cranial bump shown as hair; wheels
imprinted on palms and souls of feet;
elongated ears from wearing heavy royal
jewelry in his youth; a mandorla or
nimbus (halo or sun disk) behind his
head; and various mudras or hand
gestures.
The Seated Buddha Gandhara style is Greco-Roman in character, with stylized hair and
heavy drapery; the Mathura Buddha more resembles the yakshas from India in his bulk
and masculinity in a monk’s robe, yogic pose and gesture that tells worshipers to have no
fear; the latest of the three is Buddha preaching his first sermon has elements of both
styles with a robe on both shoulders and smooth surfaces with softer features and
downcast eyes, his hand in the Wheel-turning gesture; this became the standard
representation of Buddha in later temples built to house the statues.
The Trimurti of Hinduism
VISHNU
BRAHMA
SHIVA
The Preserver
The Creator
The Destroyer
•Earlier Hindu artists carved a series of
reliefs in caves at Badami
•“lalita” or “charming” pose.
•Dancing; arms swing rhythmically in arc.
•Hands: some holding objects; gestures
(mudras).
•Right: drummer accompanies dance.
•Shiva’s son= Ganesha (elephant headed)
mimics father
•Left= Nandi (Shiva’s bull mount)
•Indian artists did not try to show accurate
body proportions, but graceful lines and
expressive movement.
Dancing Shiva: Relief in cave
temple, Badami, India, 6th
Century.
Shiva as Mahadeva in rock-cut temple, Elephanta, India, sixth century.
Shiva 17' high; shiva as the “Great God” or Lord of Lords; middle face is
quiet and balanced; right is the female or creative aspect and at left the
male is the destructive side; symbolic representation of cyclic pattern of
death and rebirth;
Hinduism: Shiva is one of the 3 most
important deities, representing destruction
and regeneration
•Represents cosmic dances; universe will end
when he stops
•Stamps out ignorance (dwarf figure) when
dancing.
•“Nataraja” – Lord of the Dance;
•Multiple limbs and arms reflect superhuman
nature; sometimes with 3rd all-seeing eye;
• touching flaming nimbus (light of glory)
•Two upper hands hold drum (right) and flame
(left).
•Points to foot: refuge and enlightenment
•Lower right hand: “fear-not” gesture
•As Shiva spins, matted hair comes loose and
spreads like a fan on both sides of head;
Shiva as Nataraja: bronze, Naltunai
Isvaram Temple, Punjai, India, ca 1000.
Stupa, Borobudur, Java, Indonesia, ca. 800 A.D. cosmic mountain on earth,
decorated with stupas, Buddha images, hundreds of relief carvings; four square
terraces and three circular terraces lead to the closed stupa at the top,
allows for circumambulation: the further one goes, the more one
understands
Angkor Wat, Angkor, Cambodia, 12th c.; built by a Khmer king, surrounded
by a moat (oceans) and is a temple mountain representing Mount Meru,
home of the gods and center of the Hindu universe; dedicated to Vishnu, ;
rises in pyramid-like steps; each level punctuated by tower shrines
connected with covered galleries; reliefs depict kings holding court; may
have astronomical alignment;
Chapter 7: Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism: The
Art of Early China and Korea
• China is the only continuing civilization that originated in the ancient world.
• Although many dialects of spoken language existed which prevented oral
communications, a written language with characters-signs with meaning rather than
sounds- people could share literature, philosophy, and religion.
• The Silk Road was one of the world’s oldest and historically important series of trade
routes for almost 2000 yrs.; crisscrossing Eurasia on land and sea it allowed a migration
of arts, ideas and innovations between cultural groups.
• Chinese inventions include the magnetic compass, movable type, paper money,
gunpowder, silk, ceramic and lacquered arts, musical instruments, and mathematics.
• Daoism and Confucianism developed during the 5th – 3rd c. BCE, along with the
building of the Great Wall, which linked fortifications along the northern border of
China.
• Daoism was born of ancient folk beliefs and adapted many of Buddhism’s rituals and
symbols (as did Confucianism); it rejected materialism and valued intuitive awareness
acquired by a harmonious existence with nature. Dao=“path” or “way” of life.
• Confucianism embraced the veneration of ancestors, great teachers and heroic leaders
respecting such hierarchical relationships; it stressed social order and responsibility
such as concern for the impoverished, mannerly behavior, morality, and rites and
ceremonies reflecting societal relationships; pursuit of knowledge and the arts were
also central to his teachings.
• The two philosophies share many traits but here is an analogy which underlines the
difference: If the Daoist goal is to become like a piece of unhewn and natural wood, the
goal of the Confucians is to become a carved sculpture. The Daoists put the piece before
us just as it is found, and the Confucians polish it, shape it, and decorate it.
• calligraphy: beautiful handwriting of Chinese characters
• pagoda: multi-storied towers used as relic halls in China and
Japan, function as a stupa does in India
• fengshui: a Chinese notion of “wind and water”, the breath of
life, which is scattered by wind and must be stopped by
water; thus the forces of the wind and water must be adjusted
for in the orientation of Chinese architecture
• handscroll: in Asian art, a horizontal painted scroll that is
unrolled to the left and often used to present illustrated
religious texts or landscapes
• lacquer: In Chinese art, a varnish-like substance made from
the sap of the Asiatic sumac, used to decorate wood and other
organic materials
• 7,000+ life-size soldiers and horses were to act as
immortal imperial bodyguards (originally
brightly painted)
• Thought to be part of a vast funerary palace
Army of Emperor Shi Huangdi in pits
(unexcavated)
next to burial mound, Shaanxi
• Many very similar in pose, but with slight
Province, China, Qin dynasty, c.210
differences in facial features (sharp realism of
BCE, painted terracotta, average
detail)
figure 5’10⅞” high.
• Discovered in 1974 when peasants were digging a
well
Xuankong Si (Hanging
Temple), Hunyuan, China,
Northern Wei dynasty, 386534, (reconstruction 1368-1644)
the temple and monastery are
light and airy contrasting with
the heavy, bulky rock;
constructed from the top down,
pieces built separately and then
lowered onto the structure;
column-bracket-beam system
with elevated, projecting eaves
and a pitched roof; this allowed
for light, non-load-bearing
walls; its location keeps it safe
from floods, rain and snow; also,
following a Daoist principle, it is
above noises, making it a quiet
retreat.
Great Wild Goose Pagoda at Ci’en
Temple, Xian. c.650. Tang
Dynasty. Constructed for a famous
monk on his return from a 16 year
pilgrimage to India, he taught and
translated the materials he had
brought back with him here; the
pagoda, a typical East Asian
Buddhist structure, originated in
the Indian stupa which evolved
into a multistoried form and here
blended with a traditional Han
watchtower to produce the
pagoda. Although built in
masonry, it imitates wooden
structures of the time. Originally it
had 5 levels, but was restored and
modified in mid-8th c. when 2
additional stories and a finial was
added.
The PAGODA
is the general term in the English language for a
tiered tower with multiple eaves common in
China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and other parts of
Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious
function, most commonly Buddhist, and were
often located in or near temples. This term may
refer to other religious structures in some
countries.
The pagoda's original purpose was to house relics
and sacred writings.
Column-beam-bracket construction:
• Building method where beams are laid between columns with the beam length
decreasing as it is stacked higher
• The horizontal beams support vertical struts which in turn support higher
beams
• Purlins, roof support beams, ran the length of the building and held the rafters
• Brackets were used to cantilever the roof to support the eaves (like capitals
between the column and the architrave)
• Bays were compartments formed by this construction that extended the
length of the building
Seated Buddha, Datong, Shanxi, Wei Dynasty, c.460 CE,45’, cave 20 at Yungang; from the
earliest phase of Buddhist sculpture in China; front of the cave no longer stands; has the elongated
earlobes, protuberance on the head, and monk’s robe; style shows Central Asian influence.
Fan Kuan, Travelers among Mountains and
Streams, Northern Song Dynasty, early
eleventh century, Hanging scroll, ink
and colors on silk, 6’ 9”×2’ 5”.
Harmonious relationship between humanity
and nature’s potential to transform the
human spirit. Painters felt these works
could transport them into a world of
imaginary journeys.
Huge natural forms dwarf the human travelers
making us aware of how small we are and
how vast nature is.
Use of shifted perspective (some objects
viewed from the top, others strictly from
the side) and textured short staccato
strokes (here raindrop strokes)
The central larger mountain flanked by
smaller peaks reflects the Confucian sense
of social hierarchy, and the Buddhist motif
of the Buddha with bodhisattvas at his
side, while the unspoiled nature conveys a
Daoist ideal.