Gupta sculpture was known for its simplicity and serenity. It marked an apogee of development. It struck a perfect balance between the debased sensuality of the Kushana period and the symbolic abstraction of the later period. The foreign influence, which we find in the Gandhara and Mathura schools, have disappeared in the Gupta art making it totally Indian.

The reflective and tranquil mood of seated Saranath Buddha surrounded by an ornate halo and flanked by two small demi-gods and radiating an aura of divine pleasure marks the triumph of Indian art. It clearly indicates a new aesthetic quality, serving as ‘conscious vehicle of the intellectual and spiritual conceptions of the people’. The image is carved in chunar sandstone and has a surface texture of shining smoothness. The statue of the standing Buddha at Mathura is one of the finest examples of art of sculpture. It is made of red sandstone and is 127 cm in height and conveys an awesome dignity and authority. This Buddha image totally differs from that of the Kushana period.

However the Gupta art was not purely Buddhist, as many Brahmanical images of great merit were also created. The best specimens of Hindu Gods in their original forms were seen in different places. The Vishnu image of Mathura, theVaraha image of Udayagiri and the images of Deogarh represent their religious glamour and dignity.