Gupta Rule – Art and Architecture

Art and Architecture

  • By evolving the Nagara and the Dravida styles.
  • Gupta constructed the temple for the first time.
  • The temple at Deogarh near Jhansi & the sculptures in the temple at Garh near Allahabad remain important specimens of the Gupta art.
  • Beautiful statue of standing Buddha at Mathura reveals a little Greek style.
  • The Bhitari monolithic pillar of Skandagupta is also remarkable.

Rock-cut and Structural Temples

  • The Udayagiri caves (Odisha) are also of this type.

Stupas

  • Stupas was also built in large numbers but the best are found at Samat (Uttar Pradesh), Ratnagiri (Orissa) and Mirpur Khas (Sind).

Sculpture: Stone Sculpture

  • A good specimen of stone sculpture is the well-known erect Buddha from Sarnath. Of the puranic images, perhaps the most impressive is the great Boar (Varaha) at the entrance of a cave at Udayagiri.

Metal statues

  • Two remarkable examples of Gupta metal sculpture are
  • A copper image of the Buddha about eighteen feet high at Nalanda in
  • The Sultanganj Buddha of Seven and –a –half feet in height.

Painting

  • The mural paintings of this period are found at Ajanta, Bagh, Badami and other places.
  • The mural paintings of Ajanta are not true frescoes.
  • For frescoes is painted while the plaster is still damp.
  • The murals of Ajanta were made after it had been set.

Terracotta and Pottery

  • Gupta Pottery remains found at Ahichchhatra, Rajgarh, Hastinapur and Bashar and afford proof of excellence of pottery.
  • The most distinctive class of pottery of this period is the “red ware”.

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