What role did Akbar play in the work of his royal atelier?

The correct answer is Option (3) → He personally engaged with the artists, and supervised and evaluated the artworks.

• Option (1) He employed the Iranian painter Aqa Riza and his son Abul Hasan. — Incorrect. It was Jahangir who employed Aqa Riza, a well-known Iranian painter, and his son Abul Hasan.

• Option (2) He set up his own atelier alongside his father’s established atelier. — Incorrect. This was Jahangir. Despite Akbar’s established atelier, he set up his own atelier alongside his father’s.

• Option (3) He personally engaged with the artists, and supervised and evaluated the artworks. — Correct. Akbar personally engaged with his artists, and himself supervised and evaluated their work.

• Option (4) He encouraged the artists in the atelier to blend imagination and documentation. — Incorrect. It was Shah Jahan who encouraged magnificent works that were a blend of imagination and documentation.

Note: This topic was not named in the CUET 2026 syllabus, but it was part of the NCERT chapter. In 2025 and 2026, NTA also asked questions on topics in NCERT that the CUET syllabus did not name. So our mocks have questions from every part of the NCERT chapter, to give you enough practice. Read the whole chapter, not only the sub-topics named in the syllabus.