Indian Sculpture and Painting, Illustrated by Typical Masterpieces, with an Explanation of their Motives and Ideals c9.35

c9.35

The upper panels of Plates XXXIV. and XXXVI. show us Prince Siddhartha again, before the heavenly dignity of Buddhahood had transfigured him. Although the artist, in his treatment of the figure, has quite unconsciously been influenced by the Indian traditions of the divine ideal, he has known quite well to express with perfect clearness that this is only the man, although the Chosen One. The difference between him here and where he is represented as the Buddha—the Enlightened—is quite obvious, even without the distinction made by the nimbus round his head.