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Statement I The Greek influence on the Indian art manifested itself in the form of Gandhara School of Art and moved from Taxila to Mathura and Saranath. Statement I : During Gupta period art became entirely and truly Indian.
Explanation
Statement I is false because the Gandhara and Mathura schools of art evolved independently during the 1st century CE [t6]. While they influenced each other, Gandhara art was geographically centered in the northwest (Taxila/Peshawar) and characterized by Greco-Roman techniques [c1, c2, t4]. It did not simply 'move' to Mathura and Sarnath; rather, Mathura developed its own indigenous style using red sandstone [c3, t1]. Statement II is true as the Gupta period is widely regarded as the 'Golden Age' of Indian art where styles became entirely and truly Indian. During this era, the foreign influences of the Kushan period were fully assimilated into a refined, classical Indian aesthetic [t1, t3]. The Sarnath school, in particular, reached its peak during the Gupta period, producing the iconic 'Preaching Buddha' which represents the culmination of indigenous artistic development [t1].
Sources
- [1] https://www.britannica.com/art/Gandhara-art
- [2] History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 6: Polity and Society in Post-Mauryan Period > Art and Literature > p. 82
- [3] Exploring Society:India and Beyond ,Social Science-Class VII . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 6: The Age of Reorganisation > LET'S EXPLORE > p. 137
- [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandhara
- [5] Exploring Society:India and Beyond ,Social Science-Class VII . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 6: The Age of Reorganisation > THINK ABOUT IT > p. 140
- [6] https://www.carc.ox.ac.uk/PublicFiles/media/TheGlobalConnectionsOfGandharanArt/More%20Gandhara%20than%20Mathura%20-%20Ishikawa.pdf