CFI-UF 101 : CFI Buddhist Art.docx

• School: New York University
• Department: Cultural Foundations I
• Course: CFI-UF 101
• Professor: Martin Reichert

Document Summary

Chaitya hall: carved out of the living rock at karle, example of a buddhist stupa hall, contains pillared ambulatory (walking path, excellent acoustics for chanting, capitals atop of the pillars show people riding on elephants, outside there are yakshis and mithunas (amorous couples). Buddhist frieze: depicting the buddha"s birth at lumbini, the enlightenment at bodh gaya, the first sermon at sarnath, the buddha"s death at kushinagara, roman reliefs were models for the sculptors. stance, equestrian figures, comparable to figures on the lids of roman sarcophagi, mathura: city 90 miles south of delhi, part of kushan empire. Sarnath: under gupta, artists made the canonical image of the buddha, monastic robe covering both shoulders, smooth, unadorned surfaces similar to indian notion of perfect body form, eyes downcast in meditation, his hands are in the wheel turning gesture preaching his first sermon, these buddha statues were so popular they superseded the stupa.