The art and architecture of India - Buddhist, Hindu, Jain (Art Ebook)

THE
224
"
GOLDEN AGE AND END OF BUDDHIST ART
patterns, carved with the utmost delicacy and
feeling for effective shadow. This is the exact
sculptural equivalent of the magnificently
painted ceilings of the Ajanta cave temples
which will be considered later.
One of the few surviving gems of Hindu
architecture of the Gupta Period is the temple of
Vishnu at Deogarh. This fragmentary building
is one of the most ornate and beautifully composed
examples of Gupta architecture. The
temple itself occupies the innermost enclosure
of a mandala of nine squares [161]. 4 It probably
dates from the fifth
century. The shrine as it
survives consists of a cubic block of finely joined
ashlar masonry, surmounted by a ruined pyramidal
tower that at one time rose to about forty
feet in height. This cella was originally surrounded
by four porticoes, one leading to the
sanctuary, the other three serving to set off and
protect the reliefs of Brahmanic subjects set in
the remaining walls of the edifice [162]. These
panels are deeply sunk in an elaborate framework
of pilasters of the Indian order and a frieze
of foliate scrolls and lion heads. This ornament
is not far removed from the work on the
Dhamekh stupa. The carving of the frame
complements the richness of the reliefs. Their
baroque depth in their box-like settings gives
the effect of a spectacle on a stage and seems to
prophesy the dynamic chiaroscuro of later
Hindu sculpture. The voluptuous grace of the
figures and the already familiar metaphorical
conventions of anatomy and features remind us
of the style of Gupta Buddhist sculpture at
Sarnath.
But the richness and dramatic conception
of relief are far more moving than anything
to be found in Buddhist art of the fifth and
sixth centuries, and are an unmistakable indication
of the real renaissance that was taking
place in the art of the Hindu Church. Originally
the temple platform was decorated with a
continuous frieze representing events from the
epic Rdmdyana, a text popular in Gupta times
for its heroic account of the triumph of a godly
race. This is the earliest example of a motif that
^^^^^^^^^^
The main doorway of the temple at Deogarh
is repeated over and over again in the architecture
of Java.
may serve as an example of the extremely ornate
type of portal that makes its appearance now
161. Deogarh, Vishnu temple