What was the subject of the sculptures and paintings created by artists of Shanitiniketan based on their surroundings?

Santhal tribe

Answer: Santhal tribe
Shantiniketan had a large population of Santhal tribe at its outskirts, and the artists often painted them and made sculptures based on them.

Benode Behari Mukherjee and Ramkinker Baij, Bose’s most creative students, gave a lot of thought as how to understand the world. They developed their own unique style of sketching and painting that could capture not only their immediate environment like flora and fauna but also those who lived there. Shantiniketan had a large population of Santhal tribe at its outskirts, and these artists often painted them and made sculptures based on them. Apart from this, themes from literary sources also interested them.