Buddhist Art (saylor.org)

This course serves as an introduction to the Buddhist artistic traditions of South, Southeast, and East Asia, as well as the Himalayas. It is organized into four units based on the development of Buddhist schools and artistic traditions in Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, and China, Korea, and Japan. The first unit surveys the core tenets of Buddhism, Buddhist iconography, and early Buddhist art and architecture in India. The second unit reviews the development of Buddhist art and architecture in Southeast Asia, focusing on the patronage of Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism by rulers in the modern countries of Indonesia, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand. Unit three examines the particular form of Vajrayana Buddhism and its artistic traditions that developed in the Himalayas. The final unit traces the spread of Mahayana Buddhist art and architecture into China and later into Korea and Japan via the Silk Roads. All four units highlight the interaction between Buddhist doctrine, art, and architecture; Buddhism’s adaptability to local contexts; and the commissioning of Buddhist art and architecture to legitimize political, social, and cultural power.

After this course, you should be able to identify major Buddhist monuments and artworks of South, Southeast, and East Asia, as well as the Himalayas. Through this course, you will gain an understanding of how Buddhism and Buddhist art developed in each of these regional contexts.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

Identify the core beliefs of Buddhism, major Buddhist schools, and basic Buddhist iconography.

Identify major works of Buddhist art and Buddhist monuments from South, Southeast, and East Asia, as well as the Himalayas.

Identify the major developments in Buddhist doctrine and Buddhist art and architecture, as well as the relationship between the two as the religion spread throughout Southeast Asia, East Asia, and the Himalayas.