Practicing Success

Target Exam

CUET

Subject

Fine Arts

Chapter

The Bengal School and Cultural Nationalism

Question:

Arrange the artworks in chronological order according to their creation.

A. Tiller of the Soil
B. Rasa Lila
C. Radhika
D. City in the night
E. Journey's End

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Options:

B.C.A.D.E

D.C.E.A.B

C.D.B.A.E

A.D.E.B.C

Correct Answer:

A.D.E.B.C

Explanation:

The correct answer is Option D- A.D.E.B.C

A. Tiller of the Soil
D. City in the night
E. Journey's End
B. Rasa Lila
C. Radhika

Tiller of the soil- This is one of the panels made by Nandalal Bose in 1938 for the Haripura Congress. In this panel, a farmer is shown ploughing a field — the daily activity of a common man and in a village. To capture the essence of village life in his Haripura panels, Bose made pen-and-ink brush studies of local villagers. He used thick tempera in a bold cursory style and broad brushwork. This technique and style was reminiscent of the folk art practice of patuas or scroll painters.

City In The Night: This is a watercolour painting made by Gaganendranath Tagore (1869 –1938) in 1922. He was one of the earlier Indian painters, who made use of language and syntax of Cubism to render his ideas. The inner experiences of turbulence are externalised through a blend of allegorical and formal, transforming the static geometry of Analytical Cubism into an expressive apparatus. He softened Cubism’s formal geometry with a seductive profile, shadow or outline of human form. He visualised the mysterious world of his imaginary cities like Dwarka (Lord Krishna’s legendary abode) or Swarnapuri (The Golden City) through multiple viewpoints, multi-faceted shapes and jagged edges of Cubism. He painted an interplay of diamond-shaped planes and prismatic colours, resulting in fragmented luminosity to render the mountain ranges of the city. Zigzag planes together are able to create a tight formal structure of the painting. The painting is mysteriously illuminated by artificial light, one of the features of theatre.

Journey's End: Made by Abanindranath Tagore (1871–1951) in 1913, this painting is in watercolour. Abanindranath Tagore was seen as a father figure of nationalist and modernism of art in India. He revived certain aspects of Indian and oriental traditions of paintings in terms of themes, style and techniques, and invented the wash painting technique. The wash technique yields a soft, misty and impressionistic landscape. This quality of hazy and atmospheric effects of the wash are utilised to be suggestive or evocative of an end of a life. In this painting, a collapsed camel is shown in red background of dusk and in that sense it personifies the end of a journey through the end of a day. Abanindranath tried to capture the portrait and narration with the help of symbolic aesthetics on one hand and literary allusions on the other. The physical features of the camel rendered appropriately in fine lines and delicate tones, and its sensory texture leads us to the meaning of the painting.

Rasa-Lila: This is a watercolour painting in wash technique portraying the divine life of Sri Krishna made by Kshitindranath Majumdar (1891–1975). He was one of the early students of Abanindranath Tagore, who carried forward the wash tradition with some deviations. Rustic, thin, slender figures, modest gestures, idyllic settings and delicate watercolours express his stylistic features. He has painted mythological and religious subjects. Man Bhanjan of Radha, Sakhi and Radha, Lakshmi and Birth of Sri Chaitanya are few examples of his extraordinary power of expression inspired by his understanding of religious concepts as a follower of the Bhakti Marga. In this painting, Krishna is dancing with Radha and sakhis, and the background of trees creates a simple village atmosphere as illustrated in the Bhagvata Purana and Gita Govinda. Figures and their clothes are drawn with simple, flowing, delicate lines. The sublime moods of characters are captured well. Krishna and gopis are drawn with same proportion. Thus, humans and God are brought on the same level.

"Radhika"- is a wash and tempera painting made on paper by Abdul Rehman Chughtai (1899 –1975). He was a descendant of Ustad Ahmed, the chief architect of Shahjahan. He was also the designer of the Jama Masjid and Red Fort in Delhi and Taj Mahal in Agra. He was influenced by Abanindranath Tagore, Gaganendranath Tagore and Nandalal Bose. Chughtai experimented with wash technique and infused a distinct character of calligraphic line, typical in Mughal manuscripts and old Persian paintings. It gives a deeper sensuous quality to his paintings. In this painting, Radhika is portrayed walking away from a lighted lamp in a gloomy background as if in a state of trance or remorse. The subject is based on Hindu mythology.