[Mission 2022] QUIZ – 2022: INSIGHTS STATIC QUIZ, 22 February 2022 – Ancient & Medieval India + Art & Culture – INSIGHTSIAS

Solution: c)

Miniature paintings are small paintings with minute details. They were often painted for either books or albums, on perishable material including paper, palm leaves and cloth.

Developed almost as a reaction to the enormous wall paintings, the art of miniature painting developed between 8th and 12th centuries.

Two prominent school of paintings before Delhi Sultanate are Pala School of Art and Apabhramsa School of art.

The Mughal paintings brought together Persian naturalistic style with the opulence of a great dynasty and created some beautifully illustrated folios.

These paintings were considered unique because of the use of brilliant colours.

Solution: d)

The Pala dynasty came to power around 750 A.D. The Pala school of art first flourished in the Magadha region of Southern Bihar, the homeland of Buddhist religion. Not surprisingly, the majority of early Pala-period remains are Buddhist

The Pala painting is characterised by sinuous line and subdued tones of colour. It is a naturalistic style which resembles the ideal forms of contemporary bronze and stone sculpture, and reflects some feeling of the classical art of Ajanta.

The Pala art came to a sudden end after the destruction of the Buddhist monasteries at the hands of Muslim invaders in the first half of the 13th century. Some of the monks and artists escaped and fled to Nepal, which helped in reinforcing the existing art traditions there.

Solution: b)

It is a type of scroll painting mainly found in the Bhilwara district. The main themes of the phad paintings depict the deities and their legends and the stories of erstwhile Maharajas.

• Therefore, they depict the heroic deeds of a heroic figure, the daily life of a peasant, rural life, animals and birds, flora and fauna.
• These paintings are created using bright colours and subtle colours. The outlines of the paintings are first drawn in black and later filled with colours.
• Raw colours are used for these paintings. The unique features of phad paintings are the bold lines and a two-dimensional treatment of figures with the entire composition arranged in sections.

Solution: c)

• Bundi School of Painting is a Rajasthani style of Indian miniature painting that lasted from 17^th   century towards the end of 19th century.
• The Bundi School is characterized by a fondness for lush green vegetation, dramatic night skies and a distinctive way of depicting water with light swirls.
• It basically existed in the princely state of Bundi and the neighbouring principality of Kotah.

The Bundi Paintings emphasized on hunting, court scenes, procession, life of nobles, lovers, animals, birds and scenes from Lord Krishna’s life.

The Bundi School has a close association with the Mughal style.

Solution: c)

Madhubani painting/Mithila painting was traditionally created by the women of the Brahman, Dusadh and Kayastha communities in Mithila region in Nepal and India.

Originally the paintings depicted an assembly of symbolic images of the lotus plant, the bamboo grove, fishes, birds and snakes in union. These images represented fertility and proliferation of life.

Madhubani painting received official recognition in 1975, when the President of India gave Padma Shri award to Jagdamba Devi, of Jitwarpur village near Madhubani.