CLASSICAL INDIAN ART

PROJECT
BY- S WA R U P T B H O G AVA K A R
 TITLE

GANDAHAR SCHOOL OF
ART

• Gandhar school of art was one of the major
schools of art in the history of ancient
India. Although being an intricate part of
Indian history, it is uniquely associated with
the Greco-Roman style of art.
• The striking feature of Gandhar School
of art shows a very realistic and natural
depiction of features in perfection. 
• Although it was dominated by the

• The combination of these Greco-Roman

themes of Lord Buddha, however,

and Indian ideas along with the influence of
other foreign traditions such as from China
and Iran resulted in the formation of a
distinct style known as the Gandhar School
of art.
there were images on other subjects
also made such as the images of the
Greek God Apollo and certain kings as
well.

• Their art style was called Gandharan

2
HEAD OF BUDDHA 

sculpture
HEAD OF BUDDHA
INDIAN (GANDHARAN)3RD - 4TH CENTURY
THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, HOUSTON
HOUSTON, UNITED STATES

This magnificent sculpture, just a part, the mere head of an

image seated in meditation for, as suggests the bearing on
the face. This sculpture represents the Buddha in strange
fullness of meditative being. The half-closed eyes indicate
self-absorbed contemplation, the essence of his form in
meditation.  In aesthetic terminology, this form of the image
- the most accomplished as it is, combines 'Drishti' - highest
vision, with 'Rupa' - perfect form, 'Bhava' - emotion,
'Lavanya' - grace and charm, and 'Sadrasya' - likeness.

4
 MY ART INSPIRATION
Giving life to the sculpture
Instead of just rendering the statue as it in digital painting I wanted to
paint something different with this one. I just liked the idea of the sculpture
coming alive. Though bringing it to life was much more difficult than I thought.
I had to study some real people portraits first. I studied the face anatomy a
little for the contours of the face and how I should go about "sculpting" it
digitally.  I started with base color, added shadows and then shifted to
highlights for the face while painting. 

The result? I'm extremely happy with the outcome. It's much better than I
anticipated although still there's a lot of room for improvement but its good as
of now with my given skillset.

5
ROUGH WORK
TITLE:

FINAL PAINTING 7
SAMBANDAR SCULPTURE(CHIAROSCURO)
THE CHILD SAINT   
SAMBANDAR 
sculpture
THE CHILD-SAINT SAMBANDAR
CHOLA DYNASTY (9TH-13TH CENTURIES)
NATIONAL GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA

 Sambandar is one of the most prominent of the sixty-

three ayanars, Tamil Saiva bhakti saints who lived between the
sixth and the tenth centuries. He sang hymns of Shiva after Uma
Devi gave him milk to drink when he was hungry and crying
outside a Shiva temple. 

 This sculpture Sambandar is shown with the cup in one hand and

making a gesture of wonder with the other. He is naked except
for an infant's girdle of bells around his waist and a necklace of
protective tiger's claws with a central trident. An attribute of
Shiva, the trident symbolizes the child-saint's devotion.

9
 MY ART INSPIRATION
CHIAROSCURO-:LIGHT AND Dark
STUDY
Instead of just rendering the statue as it is in digital painting, I wanted
to paint something different with this one. I just liked the idea of the sculpture coming
alive. Though bringing it to life was much more di

After the last painting I became more interested in making light and contrast kind of
paintings. So I researched a bit about chiaroscuro. I tried few exercises for getting a
hang of shading white color in in such a manner that it looks like a highlight or shine of
the given object. Then I studied the Sambandar sculpture for a while marked the
highlight areas then slowly started painting it. I thought this will be easier than the last
time since I won't have to make it human like but instead it was much more difficult.
This was because I had to use light and shadow carefully so that it shows the volume
and form of the sculpture.

It almost took me a week to complete this painting,  but it was worth the try. 

10
ROUGH WORK
TITLE:

FINAL PAINTING
SAMBANDAR SCULPTURE(CHIAROSCURO)
THANK YOU