What is Gandhara style?

What is Gandhara style?

Gandhara art, style of Buddhist visual art that developed in what is now northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan between the 1st century bce and the 7th century ce.

What is the meaning of word Gandhara?

The name of Gandhara may have several meanings, but the most prominent theory relates its name to the word Qand/Gand which means “fragrance”, and Har which means ‘lands’. Hence in its simplest form, Gandhara is the ‘Land of Fragrance’.

What are the characteristics of Gandhara style?

Gandhara artists created numerous statues of the Buddha in a relatively naturalistic (or realistic) fashion. He was represented in the style of the Greek god Apollo, with a youthful, rather sweet-featured face and wavy hair. The Buddha figures were dressed in garments like those seen on statues from the Roman Empire.

What was the theme of Gandhara art?

This style of art was closely associated with Mahayana Buddhism and hence the main theme of this art was Lord Buddha and Bodhisattvas. Thus, it can be conjectured that in idea and conception this style was Indian and in execution it was foreign. One example of the Gandhara style of art is the Bamiyan Buddha statues.

Which city is the heart of Gandhara?

Gandhara was located mainly in the vale of Peshawar, the Potohar plateau, and the Kabul River. Its main cities were Purushapura (modern Peshawar), literally meaning “The City of Man”, Varmayana (modern Bamyan), and Takshashila (modern Taxila).

What made Gandhara an important state?

The region was a major centre for Greco-Buddhism under the Indo-Greeks and Gandharan Buddhism under later dynasties. Gandhara was also a central location for the spread of Buddhism to Central Asia and East Asia.

Who started the Gandhara school of art?

The Gandhara School of art had also developed in first century AD along with Mathura School during reign of Kushana emperor Kanishka. Both Shakas and Kushanas were patrons of Gandhara School, which is known for the first sculptural representations of the Buddha in human form.

What is the old name of Gandhara?

Gandhara is the name of an ancient kingdom (Mahajanapada), located in modern-day northern Pakistan and parts of eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara was located mainly in the vale of Peshawar, the Potohar plateau, and the Kabul River.

Who started Gandhara art where?

Most of the major Buddhist centers of Gandhara were founded during the second century A.D. under powerful kings like Kanishka (99.35. 3024).

Which is the best definition of Gandhara art?

Definition of Gandhara. : of or relating to ancient Gandhara, its people, or its hybrid Greco-Buddhist art.

Where does the name Gandhara come from in Sanskrit?

The name Gāndhāra occurs later in the classical Sanskrit of the epics. A Persian form of the name, Gandara, mentioned in the Behistun inscription of Emperor Darius I, was translated as Paruparaesanna ( Para-upari-sena, meaning “beyond the Hindu Kush”) in Babylonian and Elamite in the same inscription.

What was the iconography of the Gandhara school?

In its interpretation of Buddhist legends, the Gandhara school incorporated many motifs and techniques from Classical Roman art, including vine scrolls, cherubs bearing garlands, tritons, and centaurs. The basic iconography, however, remained Indian.

What was the time period of Gandhara architecture?

The third to mid-fifth centuries witnessed an incredible surge in the patronage of Buddhist sacred areas and monastic institutions, and most of the extant Gandharan architecture dates to this period; this includes the sites of Taxila as well as the massive monastic institutions of Takht-i-Bahi, Sahri-Bahlol, Jamal Garhi, Ranigat, and Thareli.