The Gupta Period (AD 320-600)
With the Gupta period we enter upon the classical phase of Indian sculpture. By the efforts of centuries techniques of art were perfected, definite types were evolved, and ideals of beauty were formulated with precision. There was no more groping in the dark, and no more experiments. A thorough intelligent grasp of the true aims and essential principles of art, a highly developed aesthetic sense, and a masterly execution with steady hands produced those remarkable images which were to be the ideal and despair of the Indian artists of subsequent ages. The Gupta sculptures not only remained models of Indian art in all times to come, but they also served as such in the Indian colonies in the Far East. The sculptures of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Vietnam, Cambodia and even Celebes bear the indelible stamp of Gupta art.
The most important contribution of Gupta art is the evolution of the perfect types of divinities, both Buddhist and Brahmanical. A large number of Buddha images have been unearthed at Sarnath near Benares, and one of them is justly regarded as the finest in the whole of India. Stone and bronze images of Buddha have also been found at Mathura and other places. The images of Siva, Vishnu and other Brahmanical gods are sculptured in some of the finest panels of the Deogarh temple (Jhansi district) and also occur elsewhere. These images are the best products of Indian art. They present a beautiful figure, full of charm and dignity, a graceful pose and a radiant spiritual expression. In general, a sublime idealism, combined with a highly-developed sense of rhythm and beauty, characterises the Gupta sculptures, and there are vigour and refinement in their design and execution. The intellectual element dominates Gupta art and keeps under control the highly-developed emotional display and the exuberance of decorative elements which characterize the art of succeeding ages.
The art of casting metals reached a degree of development which may well be regarded as wonderful. Hiuen Tsang saw at Nalanda a copper image of Buddha, about 80 feet high. The Bronze Buddha, found at Sultangani, is 7 1/2 feet high and is a fine piece of sculpture. The Iron Pillar of Delhi, near the Qutb Minar, is a marvellous work belonging to the early Gupta period. A century ago it would have been difficult, even for the best European foundry, to manufacture a similar piece made of wrought iron.
The art of painting reached its height of glory and splendour in this age. The fine fresco-paintings on the walls and ceilings of the Ajanta Caves have extorted the unstinted admiration of the whole world. Of the twenty-nine caves, sixteen contained paintings which survived,, to a greater or less extent, even as late as 1879. Most of these, it is sad to think, have been destroyed, and the rest are also gradually crumbling to dust. Although some are as old as the first century AD, most of them belong to the Gupta Age. A fine conception, brilliant colour, and admirable drawing invested these paintings with a unique charm which we can only faintly realise in their present ruined condition. In addition to decorative designs “as varied and graceful as they are fanciful” and “executed with masterly skill “, they depict sacred objects and symbols, the figures of Buddha, and the incidents of his life (including past lives described in the Jataka stories). Those known as ” The Dying Princess “, “The Mother and Child “, etc., have won the highest admiration. The fresco-paintings at Sigiriya in Ceylon, executed towards the close of the fifth century AD, show a close resemblance to those of Ajanta and are in a better state of preservation. Some fresco paintings of high merit also adorn the caves at Bagh.
Compared with sculpture, Gupta architecture, to judge by the extant remains, must be regarded as poor. The stone temple at Sanchi, like that at Deogarh, is very small, but exhibits refinement in style. The brick temple at Bhitargaon is large but ruined. Remains of stone temples of this period have also been found at Nachna-ke-Talai and other places. These temples are well-designed and consist of a square chamber, a cella (shrine), and a portico or veranda as essential elements. They are decorated with fine sculptured panels, but the decoration is properly subordinated to, and is in full harmony with, the architectural plan of the buildings. There is no doubt that magnificent temples of large dimensions were constructed during the Gupta age, but they have been completely destroyed. High and elaborately-worked towers (sikharas) which surmounted the roofs of temples in later ages, had not yet made their appearance, but the beginnings of this development are seen in the Bhitargaon temple and the miniature representations of temples on relief-sculptures of the Gupta period.
The artistic excellence of the Gupta period also found expression in the rich variety of gold coins issued by the wealthiest and mightiest monarchs of the age. According to some scholars, foreign influence is clearly traceable in this series, but the engravers who produced them were no mere imitators of the work of others. They gave free and spontaneous expression to their own ideas, and skillfully assimilated alien models with their own national tradition. The masterly execution of these coins is only matched by the elegance of their design, and they are justly regarded as among the finest examples of Indian art.
The Medieval Period (AD 600-1200)
During the six hundred years that followed the Gupta age, architecture gradually assumed the more important role in the evolution of Indian art. It was during this age that the different styles of architecture were evolved and led to the construction of the magnificent temples which we see to-day all over India.
Broadly speaking, there were two important styles of architecture – Indo-Aryan or North-Indian, and Dravidian or South-Indian. The difference lies mainly in the shape of the sikhara or the high tower-like superstructure which now almost universally surmounts the cella or the shrine containing the image of the deity. The North Indian sikhara has the appearance of a solid mass of curvilinear tower, bulging in the middle and ending in almost a point. The South Indian sikhara looks like a pyramid made up of successive stores each smaller than, and receding a little from, the one beneath it. This also ended in a small round piece of stone as its crowning member. Both types of sikharas were minutely carved with decorative sculptures.
There is another essential difference between the two styles of architecture. In South Indian temples pillars play an important part while they are altogether absent in edifices constructed in the North Indian style.
