Which style of painting in colonial India declined with the entry of photography in the mid-nineteenth century?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Company School of Painting
Option (1) Mughal miniature painting — Incorrect. Mughal miniatures did not decline in this way. Havell and Abanindranath held them up as more important sources of inspiration.
Option (2) Company School of Painting — Correct. English officers had local artists paint the people and places around them, partly for documentation. The camera offered a better way of documentation, so this style declined.
Option (3) Academic style of painting — Incorrect. The academic style did not decline at that time. It flourished in the art schools set up by the British.
Option (4) Pahari miniature painting — Incorrect. Pahari miniatures, like Mughal ones, were held up by Havell and Abanindranath as more important sources of inspiration.
NCERT (2026-27): “Company Painting …Partly for documentation and partly for artistic reasons, many English officers commissioned local artists to paint scenes around them to get a better idea of the natives. …It is this mixture of traditional and European style of painting that came to be known as the Company School of Painting. This style was not only popular among the British in India but even in Britain, where albums, consisting a set of paintings were much in demand. This style declined with the entry of photography in India in the mid–nineteenth century as camera offered a better way of documentation.…” |