By the end of the nineteenth century, ideas about art in India changed. How did people then come to look upon the academic style embraced by Raja Ravi Varma?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → As foreign and too western to show Indian myths and history
Option (1) As foreign and too western to show Indian myths and history — Correct. With the rise of nationalism, his academic style was looked down upon as foreign and too western for Indian themes.
Option (2) As regressive and anti-modern in its outlook — Incorrect. Benoy Sarkar used these words for the Oriental Bengal School of Art, not for Ravi Varma’s style.
Option (3) As mere documentation that the camera now did better — Incorrect. The camera offered a better way of documentation, and an earlier style declined with the entry of photography. This is not how Ravi Varma’s style was seen.
Option (4) As too close to Mughal and Pahari miniatures in style — Incorrect. Mughal and Pahari miniatures were the sources Havell and Abanindranath preferred. Ravi Varma’s style came from copies of European paintings.
NCERT (2026-27): “Raja Ravi Varma …The most successful examples of this type of painting were found away from these art schools. They are best seen in the works produced by self-taught artist, Raja Ravi Varma of the Travancore Court in Kerala. … With the rise of nationalism in India by the end of the nineteenth century, this academic style embraced by Raja Ravi Varma came to be looked down upon as foreign and too western to show Indian myths and history. It is amidst such nationalist thinking that the Bengal School of Art emerged in the first decade of the twentieth century.” |