Indian Sculpture and Painting, Illustrated by Typical Masterpieces, with an Explanation of their Motives and Ideals c7.141

c7.141

The insincerity and want of spirituality typical of nearly all the art of Gandhara are, as I have said, most conspicuous in the earliest examples, or those which are attributed to the first century of our era, when the Græco-Roman influence was strongest. Two centuries later, in the sculptures of the Loriyân Tangai Monastery,¹ which Professor Grünwedel describes as belonging to the best period of Gandhara, the art has become more Indian, more national, and more spiritual, but it has not yet achieved the true ideal of real Indian art. Since, however, it is Indian influence, Indian thought, which has so far perfected the style, it is surely incorrect to say that the ideal of Indian Buddhist art has been created by foreigners. Foreign hands may have held the tools, but the influences which dominated the art have been throughout Indian.