Read the passage on the Kangra School and answer the question that follows.
Painting in the Kangra region blossomed under the patronage of a remarkable ruler, Raja Sansar Chand (1775–1823). Characteristic features of the Kangra style are delicacy of line, brilliance of colour and minuteness of decorative details.
Which of the following came in vogue around the 1790s and is the most distinctive feature of the Kangra style?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → The female face with a straight nose in line with the forehead
Option (1) The female face with a straight nose in line with the forehead — Correct. This way of drawing the female face came in vogue around the 1790s. It is the most distinctive feature of the Kangra style.
Option (2) Figures with a prominent chin and wide open eyes — Incorrect. A prominent chin and wide open eyes mark the figures of the Kullu style, not Kangra.
Option (3) The lavish use of beetle’s wing casings — Incorrect. Beetle’s wing casings are a Basohli element. Manak kept them in his Gita Govinda painted at Guler in 1730.
Option (4) Delicate pastel shades with daring expanses of white or grey — Incorrect. Pastel shades with expanses of white or grey describe the palette of Nainsukh, not the Kangra style.
NCERT (2026-27): “Kangra School …The Kangra style is by far the most poetic and lyrical of Indian styles marked with serene beauty and delicacy of execution. Characteristic features of the Kangra style are delicacy of line, brilliance of colour and minuteness of decorative details. Distinctive is the delineation of the female face, with straight nose in line with the forehead, which came in vogue around the 1790s is the most distinctive feature of this style.” |