Buddha in art

Much Buddhist art depicts the historical Buddha, Gautama Buddha, in forms known as Buddharūpa (lit. 'Form of the Awakened One') in Sanskrit and Pali. These may be statues or other images such as paintings. The main figure in an image may also represent another individual who has attained Buddhahood, or a bodhisattva, especially within the various traditions of Mahayana Buddhism. Other Buddhas and bodhisattvas in art have become increasingly common over the centuries, perhaps now even outnumbering images of the historical Buddha.

In its first centuries Buddhism was largely or entirely aniconic, not showing the person of Buddha except by symbols and relics. This changed, and figures of the Buddha became very common in the art of Gandhara and Gupta art. As forms of esoteric Buddhism developed, other figures from the expanding array of Buddhist sacred persons became more prominent. In Theravada Buddhism this was much less the case, and figures of the historical Buddha remain the most common main images in temples and shrines to the present.

Early images were most often of Buddha standing, but seated meditating postures, essentially the lotus position of yoga, came to predominate. Often these represent a specific moment in the Buddha's life, which is identified by the Buddha's hand gesture (mudra), or attributes shown. There are also statues of the Reclining Buddha, lying down, usually showing the moment of his death.

Sets of narrative scenes from the life of the Buddha tend to concentrate on standard groupings such as the Eight Great Events or other sets, but may be much larger. Originally common in reliefs, and probably paintings of which few have survived, they have more recently mostly been in painted form. Narrative scenes may show the Buddha in various poses, though they tend to show the Buddha in the same standing, seated or lying positions, with other figures or a mudra indicating what moment is being depicted.

Despite cultural and regional differences in the interpretations of texts about the life of Gautama Buddha, there are some general guidelines to the attributes of a Buddharupa:

The elongated earlobes are vestiges of his life as a prince, when he wore extravagant jewelry. The bump at the top of the head is the ushnisha and represents spirituality, wisdom, and awakening.

Depictions of the Buddha vary widely across cultures.

The image of Buddhas started to emerge from the first century CE in North India, developed in Gandhara and Mathura. The art of Gandhara was influenced by Ancient Greek art, leading to the development of Greco-Buddhist art with anatomically well-proportioned and realistic figure of the Buddha. One of the most influential Buddhist art was Gupta art and the later Amaravati style. From India the depiction of Buddha spread to the rest of Asia. The Buddharupas of India, Sri Lanka, Javanese Sailendra and Cambodian art usually depict a well-proportioned figure, but sometimes he is shown emaciated, in recollection of the Buddha's years of ascetic practices.