Dancing King Shiva
Hello everyone! Today, I would like to introduce another bronze statue of the 11th-century Indian Jura Dynasty, "Shiva the Dancing King", which is also in the collection of the National Museum in New Delhi, India.
According to mysticism in Hinduism, the human body is the epitome of the universe, and dance symbolizes the rhythm of the universe, so the image of The Dancing King Shiva appears most frequently in medieval Hindu sculptures.
Unearthed in Tiruvara Ghulam, the statue is 98 cm tall and is considered one of the most mystical and philosophical works of art in Indian Shiva statue art.
He gently lifted his left foot and his right leg independent of the aura of flames, stepping on a small person, showing the meaning of "conqueror of time". The halo of the flame symbolizes the cyclical process of generation, preservation, and destruction, and also embodies the unity of eternal movement and calm spirit, the unity between radial tension and aura constraint. This stillness in motion is precisely in line with the eternal idea of Hinduism in the midst of change.
In 1921, when introducing the work, The Magazine of Asian Art mentioned that the famous French sculptor Rodin, when he saw the work, praised its representation of the rhythm of the combination of movement and stillness, saying: "This is the most perfect expression of rhythmic movement in art" and "full of vitality".
The famous modern artist Picasso also admired it.
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