Seated Buddha, Cave 20

Here is a 45 foot statue that would be incredible to see in person. There is amazing detail in the carvings behind the Buddha, which seemed to have taken a long time to create due to the size of the cave. The drapery that the Buddha has on looks very light, which is extremely difficult to do with a carving. The one next to the seated Buddha on the right gives an opening appearance, as if he's waving at whoever is looking at the sculpture with a friendly gesture. It would have been an awesome sight to see this in it's entirety, but since the front part has crumbled away we only have this to see, which is still remarkable. One of these days I'm going to see this in person.

Augustus of Primaporta

The thing that stood out to me when I first saw this sculpture was the texture of the chest plate. It must've taken the sculpture a really long time to craft that. I like how it shows Augustus pointing off in the distance, as if he is talking to a group of people. The way the sculpture handled the cloth that Augustus is holding is really impressive. It crosses his body, and onto his arm very fluidly, therefore making the cloth seem very realistic. From a distance, it would almost seem like it would be soft to touch it. After noticing the detail of Augustus, I glanced down and saw Cupid hanging from his leg riding a dolphin, which makes sense since Augustus was a descendant from the goddess Venus. This is a very well done sculpture, and it would be really awesome to see this in person.
 -Steve