Who were the key figures behind the Indianisation of art education in 1896?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → E. B. Havell and Abanindranath Tagore
Option (1) Ananda Coomaraswamy and Kakuzo Okakura — Incorrect. Coomaraswamy joined hands with Okakura after the Partition of Bengal in 1905, when the Swadeshi movement was at its peak.
Option (2) Nandalal Bose and Amrita Sher-Gil — Incorrect. Nandalal Bose, a student of Abanindranath, later headed the painting department at Kala Bhavana. Amrita Sher-Gil painted Camels.
Option (3) Raja Ravi Varma and Jamini Roy — Incorrect. Raja Ravi Varma mastered academic realism, the style the nationalists looked down on. Jamini Roy rejected his academic training for a folk style.
Option (4) E. B. Havell and Abanindranath Tagore — Correct. In 1896, E. B. Havell and Abanindranath Tagore saw a need to Indianise art education in the country.
NCERT (2026-27): “Abanindranath Tagore and E. B. Havell The year 1896 was important in the Indian history of visual arts. E. B. Havell and Abanindranath Tagore saw a need to Indianise art education in the country. This began in the Government Art School, Calcutta, now, Government College of Art and Craft, Kolkata. Similar art schools were established in Lahore, Bombay and Madras but their primary focus was on crafts like metalwork, furniture and curios.…” |