Mughal paintings were produced in the royal atelier for the emperors.…

Mughal paintings were produced in the royal atelier for the emperors. Consider the following statements about them:

(A) The paintings were meant to be seen by the royals only.
(B) The paintings were made to suit the sensitivity of the royals or as intellectual stimulation.
(C) The Hamza Nama paintings were done in gouache, which is water-based and in transparent colours.
(D) The Mughal atelier consisted of calligraphers, painters, gilders and weavers.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 2

The correct answer is Option (2) → Two

(A) The paintings were meant to be seen by the royals only. — Correct. They recorded the events, personalities and interests of the emperors, for the royals alone.

(B) The paintings were made to suit the sensitivity of the royals or as intellectual stimulation. — Correct. Both purposes are given for these paintings.

(C) The Hamza Nama paintings were done in gouache, which is water-based and in transparent colours. — Incorrect. Gouache is water-based, but its colours are opaque, not transparent.

(D) The Mughal atelier consisted of calligraphers, painters, gilders and weavers. — Incorrect. The fourth group in the atelier was binders, not weavers.

NCERT (2026-27): “Influences on Mughal Painting …The Mughal atelier consisted of calligraphers, painters, gilders and binders. Paintings recorded and documented significant events, personalities and interests of the emperors. These were meant to be seen by the royals only. The paintings were made to suit the sensitivity of the royals or often made as intellectual stimulation. The paintings were a part of manuscripts and albums.”

“Early Mughal Painting …The emperor took great interest in both pictorial narrative, as well as, recitation of Hamza Nama. Because of the peculiar function of these paintings, their format is large. The base surface is cloth with paper at the back, on which the narrative text is written to help the narrator and the technique applied is gouache, which is water-based and in opaque colours.”