What did Abanindranath Tagore and E. B. Havell criticise about colonial Art Schools?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Imposition of European taste in art
Option (1) Imposition of European taste in art — Correct. Both were critical of colonial Art Schools and the way European taste in art was being imposed on Indians.
Option (2) Focus on crafts like metalwork, furniture and curios — Incorrect. This was the main focus of the art schools in Lahore, Bombay and Madras. It is a plain fact about those schools, not the point the two men criticised.
Option (3) Spread of oleographs as calendar images — Incorrect. Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings were copied as oleographs and sold as calendar images. This shows how popular they were. It was not the criticism of the Art Schools.
Option (4) Use of photography for documentation — Incorrect. Photography came in the mid-nineteenth century as a better way of documentation. It was not what the two men criticised.
NCERT (2026-27): “The Bengal School …Abanindranath enjoyed the support of British administrator and principal of the Calcutta School of Art, E. B. Havell (1861–1934). Both Abanindranath and Havell were critical of colonial Art Schools and the manner in which European taste in art was being imposed on Indians. They firmly believed in creating a new type of painting that was Indian not only in subject matter but also in style.” |