Which Bengali intellectual sided with the anglicists, considered the modernism growing in Europe authentic and called the Oriental Bengal School of Art regressive?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Benoy Sarkar
Option (1) Abanindranath Tagore — Incorrect. He was the first major supporter of Swadeshi values in Indian art, which shaped the Bengal School itself.
Option (2) Benoy Sarkar — Correct. In his article ‘The Futurism of Young Asia’ he sided with the anglicists. He called the Bengal School regressive and anti-modern.
Option (3) Jamini Roy — Incorrect. He trained in the colonial Art School but rejected it to adopt the flat and colourful style of folk painting, so he did not side with the anglicists.
Option (4) Ananda Coomaraswamy — Incorrect. He was an art historian who wrote about Swadeshi in art and joined hands with Kakuzo Okakura, so he stood with the nationalists, not the anglicists.
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.
NCERT (2026-27): “Different Concepts of Modernism: Western and Indian The divide between anglicists and orientalists, as mentioned earlier, was not based on race. Take the case of the Bengali intellectual, Benoy Sarkar, who sided with the anglicists and considered modernism that was growing in Europe as authentic in an article, ‘The Futurism of Young Asia’. For him, the Oriental Bengal School of Art was regressive and anti-modern. On the other hand, it was E. B. Havell, an Englishman, who was in favour of return to native art to create a true modern Indian art.” |