KHAJURAHO SCULPTURE ART
Type Of Art: Medieval Indian Art.
Combination Of: Eastern Indian Art & Classic Gupta Art.
On Display: Physical Beauty.
The
sculptural art of Khajuraho draws amply on the classical Indian tradition,
but is essentially medieval. Open to the artistic influences from the east
and the west, the art is a happy combination of the sensuousness of the
eastern Indian art with the classical Gupta art. It is unmatched in
sublimity, depth of feeling and expression of inner experience of the
artist and pulsates with a human vitality, which is amazing. One is struck
by the immensity and throbbing warmth of Khajuraho sculptures, which are
completely liberated from their wall surface and stand out almost fully on
the ground, as vivid and enchanting lyrics of modelled beauty.
The modelling at Khajuraho is generally still and lacks the flow and
sensitivity, which characterize the sculptures of the Gupta age. The
plastic volume is generally ample, but is stereotyped, indicating a
thinning down of the plastic vision. The plasticity of the fully rounded
and modelled form is replaced by sharp edges and pointed angles with a
stress on horizontals, verticals and diagonals. The smooth and gliding
curves of the classical sculpture now tend to become concave.
The Passionate Display
Inspired by an ecstatic joy of living and a consuming passion for the
physical beauty, the artist of Khajuraho revels to admire the human body
from the most fascinating angles, which give us fine profiles and the
unusual three-quarter profiles. The walls of the Khajuraho temples are a
veritable gallery of feminine ravishing beauties, vaunting their
voluptuous charms in an infinite variety of lovely attitudes and postures.
In fact this art excels all other contemporary schools of art in the vivid
portrayal of human moods and fancies, which are often expressed through
the medium of gestures and flexions with a subtle but purposive sensuous
provocation.
