Buddha Shakyamuni

This artwork depicts Buddha Shakyamuni, a very prominent figure in Asia as he is the founder of the Buddhist religion. The artist of this piece remains unknown. It was created in Utter Pradesh in the late sixth century of The Gupta Period, which can also be referred to as the golden age of India. The period is noted as a time during which the model Buddha image was created, becoming an iconic form which was dispersed and copied all throughout Asia. Gupta rule embodied morals of harmony, success, and artistic achievement. The Gupta rulers were Hindu, yet actively practiced Buddhism as well. They were patrons of art, religion, and sciences. The Gupta style and its images of Buddha were to be greatly significant for the many regional schools of sculpture that came to be at a later time all over
There are many factors in why the artist would be interested in depicting Shakyamuni. The main factor would be his significance in Buddhist religion. Made from copper alloy with traces of paint, this sculpture of Buddha illustrates two ideals basic to Buddhism, the universal ruler and the ultimate yogi. He has the yogi's agile, buoyant body and meditative facial expression. From the ruler, he obtains strong shoulders, firm body, youth, and webbed hands and feet. One can observe that the artist used common and traditional aspects of late 6th century art as oppose to new and innovative ideas. Artists found it useful to connect the Buddha's human form with nature’s values; his slanted eyes are shaped like fish, and the profile of his left shoulder and arm is like the trunk of an elephant. His ears are elongated as it was common in ancient India. The Buddha is in a standing position with the right hand raised to shoulder height, arm bent, and palm facing outward. His right hand displays a gesture a reassurance, the abhayamudra. This is one of the earliest Mudra found on a number of Buddhist and Hindu