CBSE Class 12 Fine Arts NCERT Exercise Solutions

Mughal miniature painting developed under the patronage of Mughal emperors, beginning with Humayun who brought Persian painters Mir Sayyid Ali and Abd as-Samad to India.

Key features:

• Persian influence: Initial style derived from Persian (Safavid) tradition — flat perspective, rich colours, intricate borders.
• Indian influence: Warm colours, local flora and fauna, Indian faces, emotional expression.
• Subjects: Court scenes, portraits, historical narratives, nature studies (Jahangir era — animals and birds), battles, hunts.
• Naturalism: Under Akbar, more naturalistic style. Under Jahangir — keen observation of nature. Under Shah Jahan — more decorative, idealised.
• Materials: Mineral pigments, gold and silver, painted on paper/cloth with fine squirrel-hair brushes.

Great masters: Daswant, Basawan (Akbar); Manohar, Bichitr (Jahangir/Shah Jahan).

Company School emerged in 18th–19th century India when Indian artists worked for British patrons (East India Company officials and their families).

Features:

• Fusion of Indian and European techniques.
• Indian artists adopted Western perspective, shading, and realistic portrayal.
• Subjects: Indian life, nature (plants, birds, animals), craftsmen, costumes — documenting India for British audiences.
• Not a single school but emerged in different centres: Murshidabad, Patna (Patna Qalam), Delhi, Tanjore, Trichinopoly.

Patna Qalam (Company School in Bihar):

• Intimate scenes of everyday life of artisans, tradespeople.
• Use of watercolour on paper (adapted from both Indian and European styles).

Raja Ravi Varma (1848–1906, born in Kilimanoor, Kerala) was the first major modern Indian painter to master European oil painting techniques.

Contribution:

• Depicted Indian mythological subjects (Lakshmi, Saraswati, Shakuntala, Damayanti) using European academic realism.
• Trained himself by observing Dutch paintings in the Travancore palace.
• Established a lithographic press to mass-produce oleographs — making mythological imagery accessible to common people.

Legacy:

• His calendar art shaped popular visual culture in India for generations.
• Images of Hindu goddesses in homes across India derive from his work.
• Debated: some critics say he "Westernised" Indian mythology; admirers say he democratised art.

The Bengal School of Art was founded in the early 20th century in Calcutta by Abanindranath Tagore (nephew of Rabindranath Tagore).

Significance:

• Direct reaction against Western (British) academic realism in Indian art.
• Sought to revive Indian painting traditions (Mughal, Rajput, Ajanta) and incorporate Japanese wash techniques.
• Influenced by Okakura Kakuzo (Japanese art critic) and supported by E.B. Havell (principal of Calcutta School of Art).

Style:

• Soft, lyrical, watercolour-based.
• Indian mythological and historical themes.
• Famous works: Abanindranath's "Bharat Mata" (Mother India), "Shah Jahan on his Death Bed."

Significance: The Bengal School was the first organised movement asserting Indian cultural nationalism against colonial cultural domination.

Amrita Sher-Gil (1913–1941) was born in Hungary to a Sikh father and Hungarian mother. She studied painting in Paris and was influenced by Paul Gauguin and the Post-Impressionists.

Contribution:

• First major woman artist in modern India.
• Painted village life with empathy — depicted ordinary women, labourers, and rural scenes with dignity.
• Bridged Western modernism and Indian themes.

Famous works: "Three Girls," "Brahmacharis," "Village Scene," "Bride's Toilet."

Style: Bold contours, warm earth tones, simplified forms, psychological depth.

Her work is held by the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi. She is considered India's Frida Kahlo — a woman artist ahead of her time.

The Great Stupa at Sanchi (Madhya Pradesh) is the best-preserved Buddhist monument in India, built originally by Emperor Ashoka (3rd century BCE) and later expanded.

Features:

• Anda: Solid hemispherical dome representing the cosmic mound.
• Harmika: Square railing on top of the dome.
• Chatravali: Stone parasols (umbrella-like) — symbols of royalty and honour.
• Medhi: Circular terrace around the drum of the stupa — for circumambulation (pradakshina).
• Vedika: Stone railing around the stupa.
• Toranas (4 gateways): Carved with narrative scenes from Jataka tales, life of Buddha, and symbols (Buddha is not depicted in human form in early art — symbolised by footprints, empty throne, Bodhi tree, wheel).