Observe the image and answer the following question.
Paintings like the one shown were made on paper by local artists for English officers. Apart from artistic reasons, why did many of these officers commission such paintings?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → For documentation, to get a better idea of the natives
Option (1) For documentation, to get a better idea of the natives — Correct. English officers commissioned local artists partly for documentation and partly for artistic reasons, to get a better idea of the natives.
Option (2) For decoration, to adorn the Indian House in London — Incorrect. The Indian House in London was decorated later by Bengal School artists under close British supervision. It was not the purpose of these paintings.
Option (3) For display, to hang as panels at a Congress session — Incorrect. Panels for the Congress session at Haripura were painted much later by Nandalal Bose, at Mahatma Gandhi’s invitation. They were not why officers commissioned these paintings.
Option (4) For training, to teach realistic studies in art schools — Incorrect. Realistic studies were taught at the Bombay School of Art by its Principal, Gladstone Solomon. They are not why officers commissioned these paintings.
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): “Company Painting Art in India had a different purpose prior to the coming of the British. …With the colonial rule around the eighteenth century, the English were charmed by different manners and customs of people of all ranks, tropical flora and fauna, and varying locales. Partly for documentation and partly for artistic reasons, many English officers commissioned local artists to paint scenes around them to get a better idea of the natives.”
Ghulam Ali Khan, Group of Courtesans, Company Painting, 1800–1825. San Diego Museum of Art, California, USA |
