Mughal book paintings passed through set stages in the royal atelier. What was the stage of making portraits called?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Chiharanama
Option (1) Tarh — Incorrect. Tarh was the first stage, making the composition.
Option (2) Chiharanama — Correct. After the composition, the artist made the portraits. This stage was called chiharanama.
Option (3) Rangamizi — Incorrect. Rangamizi was the final stage of colouring.
Option (4) Muraqqa — Incorrect. Muraqqas were individual paintings mounted in albums, popular under Jahangir. It is not a stage in making a painting.
Note: This topic was not named in the CUET 2026 syllabus, but it was part of the NCERT chapter. In 2025 and 2026, NTA also asked questions on topics in NCERT that the CUET syllabus did not name. So our mocks have questions from every part of the NCERT chapter, to give you enough practice. Read the whole chapter, not only the sub-topics named in the syllabus.
NCERT (2026-27): “Process of Mughal Painting …For making book painting, the following process was adopted. Sheets of handmade paper were prepared and cut to suit the size of the manuscript. Designated space was left for the artist to fill it with a suitable visual composition. Then, the pages were ruled and filled with text. Once the text was written, it was given to the artist, who would compose a synoptic visual representation of the text. The artist would begin from the stage of making the composition, i.e., tarh, to portraits, i.e., chiharanama to the final stage of colouring, i.e., rangamizi.” |