Observe the image and answer the following question.
The portrait in the image is of a ruler of the last phase of Mughal painting. The masterworks of this phase were “mere last flickers in the candle that was the Mughal miniature style”. Besides the ruler shown, in whose periods were these masterworks produced?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Muhammad Shah Rangila and Shah Alam II
Option (1) Aurangzeb and Shah Alam II — Incorrect. Shah Alam II is right, but Aurangzeb is not among the rulers of this phase. Under him the atelier got less effort, though it was not shut down.
Option (2) Muhammad Shah Rangila and Shah Alam II — Correct. The masterworks of the last phase came from the periods of Muhammad Shah Rangila, Shah Alam II and Bahadur Shah Zafar, the ruler shown.
Option (3) Shah Jahan and Muhammad Shah Rangila — Incorrect. Muhammad Shah Rangila is right, but Shah Jahan is not among the rulers named for this last phase.
Option (4) Aurangzeb and Shah Jahan — Incorrect. Neither ruler is among those named for this last phase. Aurangzeb put less effort into the atelier.
NCERT (2026-27): “Later Mughal Painting …Although some masterworks were produced during the periods of Muhammad Shah Rangila, Shah Alam II and Bhadur Shah Zafar, these were mere last flickers in the candle that was the Mughal miniature style. Bahadur Shah Zafar, painting, dated 1838, was made about two decades before he was exiled to Burma by the British, who were quick to see that no claimant to Mughal authority remains anywhere near Delhi to claim their imperial authority, after the failure of the Indian Revolt of 1857.”
Bahadur Shah Zafar, 1838, Fogg Museum of Art, Cambridge, UK “Early Mughal Painting …Aurangzeb did not put as much effort to elevate the production of the Mughal atelier. However, unlike the popular belief the royal atelier was not shut down immediately and continued producing beautiful pointings.” |
