Which of the following were some of the favourite themes of the Mughal artists?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Royal court scenes, portraits and accurate flora and fauna
Option (1) Ragamala, Barahmasa and Nayika-bheda — Incorrect. These are themes of the Rajasthani and Pahari schools, not the favourite Mughal themes.
Option (2) Jaina and Buddhist religious texts — Incorrect. These were painted in the earlier manuscript tradition of western and eastern India.
Option (3) Royal court scenes, portraits and accurate flora and fauna — Correct. The Mughal artists, with their subtle and almost three-dimensional style, favoured these themes.
Option (4) Episodes of Krishna from the Gita Govinda — Incorrect. The Gita Govinda was a favourite of the Rajasthani and Pahari painters.
NCERT (2026-27): “Influences on Mughal Painting …The pre–Mughal and parallel indigenous schools of paintings in India had their strong distinct style, aesthetics and purpose. The indigenous Indian style emphasised on flat perspective, strong use of lines, vivid colour palette, and bold modelling of figures and architecture. The Mughal style offered subtlety and finesse, portrayed almost three-dimensional figures and created optical reality. The royal court scenes, portraits, depiction of accurate flora and fauna were some of the favourite themes of the Mughal artists. Thus, the Mughal painting ushered in a new style and sophistication to the Indian arts of that time.” |