Mughal book paintings were made in the royal atelier through a set process. Arrange the following stages in the order in which they were carried out:
(A) Painting the portraits (chiharanama)
(B) Making the composition (tarh)
(C) Ruling the pages and filling them with text
(D) Colouring the painting (rangamizi)
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → (C), (B), (A), (D)
C. Ruling the pages and filling them with text — First. Space was left for the picture, then the pages were ruled and the text written. Only then did the page go to the artist.
B. Making the composition (tarh) — Second. The artist began his work with the composition, called tarh.
A. Painting the portraits (chiharanama) — Third. After the composition came the portraits, called chiharanama.
D. Colouring the painting (rangamizi) — Fourth. Colouring, called rangamizi, was the final stage.
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.” |