Question

Gandhara school of Art flourished during the reign of ____
A.Ashoka
B.Kanishka
C.Chandragupta Maurya
D.Samudragupta

Answer 1

Hint:Gandhara is an ancient term for the kingdom of Kandahar which extended to Jalalabad district of modern-day Afghanistan as well as Taxila, in northern Pakistan. Gandhara school of art was one of the major schools of art in Ancient India associated with Greco-Roman style of art along with a combination of Indian ideas and influence from Iran, China and other foreign countries.

Complete answer:Gandhara school of art is closely related to Mahayana Buddhism and depicts Buddha and Bodhisattvas. For example, Bamiyan Buddha statues had an Indian style with a foreign execution.
It flourished in the area of Afghanistan and North Western Indian, and included prominent centers like Taxila, Peshawar, Begram, and Bamiyan around first century BCE to fourth century CE.
Black stone,green phyllite, gray-blue mica schist and stucco were extensively used. The latter was used for free standing structures like chaityas, Viharas, and stupas. It has Hellenistic features of Buddha image.
The features are very realistically and naturally depicted. It included images of Buddha, other subjects and Greek Gods like Greek God Apollo and certain kings as well. Halo around the head of Lord Buddha, Buddha’s wavy hair, the forehead lines, ornaments and drape style of the garments signify the Greco-Roman effect on Gandhara art.
With the influence of Indian emperor Kanishka, there were extensive Buddhist activities. The Gandhara School of Art flourished under his reign.

Hence, the correct answer is option (B).

Note:The Gandhara school was largely based on anthropomorphic traditions of Roman religion. It represented the Buddha with a youthful Apollo-like face. He was dressed in garments, which was similar to those seen on Roman imperial statues. It was also inspired by Mathura school of Art.