Art and Culture(Paintings)

Correct

Statement 1 is correct. Maharashtra is known for its Warli folk paintings. Warli is the name of the largest tribe found on the northern outskirts of Mumbai, in Western India.
Women are mainly engaged in the creation of these paintings. These paintings do not depict mythological characters or images of deities, but depict social life. Images of human beings and animals, along with scenes from daily life are created in a loose rhythmic pattern.
These tribal paintings of Maharashtra are traditionally done in the homes of the Warlis. Painted white on mud walls, they are pretty close to pre-historic cave paintings in execution and usually depict scenes of human figures engaged in activities like hunting, dancing, sowing and harvesting.
Statement 2 is correct. The Warli paintings have been recognized as Geographical Indication.

Correct

Bhavai is a genre of folk dance popular in Rajasthan state in western India. The male or female performers balance a number of earthen pots or brass/metal pitchers as they dance.
# Also, Bhavai (Vesha or Swang) is a popular folk theatre form of western India, especially in Gujarat.
Therukoothu is an ancient art, where artists play songs with dance and music in storytelling the epics, performed in Tamil; it is a folk art originated from the early Tamil region.
Pichwai are large devotional Hindu painted pictures, normally on cloth, which portray Krishna. It originated over 400 years ago, in the town of Nathdwara near Udaipur in Rajasthan, India. Intricate and visually stunning, pichwai paintings, made on cloth, depict tales from Lord Krishna’s life.

Correct

‘Bharat Mata’ is Abanindranath Tagore’s work (1905) depicting a saffron clad woman, dressed like a sadhvi, holding a book, sheaves of paddy, a piece of white cloth and a garland in her four hands.

‘Darjeeling and Fog’ was created in 1945 by Nandalal Bose.
The ‘Descent of the Ganges’ or ‘Arjuna’s Penance’ are portrayed in stone at the Pallava heritage site in Mahabalipuram.
‘Shakuntala looking for Dushyanta’ (1870) is an epic painting by celebrated Indian painter, Raja Ravi Verma

Correct

About 30 British portrait painters trained in oil paintings and 28 miniaturists travelled to India between 1770 and 1825 in search of commissions.
• Amongst the earliest European artists who visited India were John Zoffany, William Hodges, Tilly Kettle, William and Thomas Daniells, Emily Eden and others.
• From around 1760 till the mid-19th century, these itinerant artist-travelers toured India working for local patrons making paintings and prints of monuments, landscapes as well as portraits.
• The artists worked in oils on canvas utilizing the western technique of academic realism with its emphasis on linear perspective.
• These European artists recorded the new colony in prints and paintings that explored the vast landscapes, the numerous historical edifices and monuments and the many communities that inhabited the land.
• Filtered through the ‘orientalist’ lens, these works imaged India as an exotic and mysterious land in paintings depicting the ghats of Benaras, dancing girls in princely courts, colourful caste costumes, portraits of local rulers and their courtiers, different native occupations and the local flora and fauna.

Correct

Located in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, these mural paintings were executed on Veerabhadra temple walls at Lepakshi in 16th Century.
• Made during the Vijaynagara period, they follow a religious theme, based on Ramayana, Mahabharata and incarnations of Vishnu.
• The paintings show a complete absence of primary colours, especially blue.
• They depict a decline in painting in terms of quality.
• The forms, figures and details of their costumes are outlined with black colour.

Correct

Some of the paintings from the later period can be seen in the Jogimara caves in the Ramgarh hills in Surguja district of Chhattisgarh. These are dated to be painted around 1000 BCE.
• Chhattisgarh is also home to the variety of caves in the district of Kanker like the shelter of Udkuda, Garagodi, Khairkheda, Gotitola, Kulgaon, etc.
• These shelters depict the human figurines, animals, palm prints, bullock carts, etc. which show a higher and sedentary type of living.

Correct

Kurumba art is a unique tribal art form found in the Nilgiris. It was discovered by the C.P.Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation and presented to the world.
• Eluthu paarai is an ancient 3000-year-old rock-art site in the Kothagiri region of the Nilgiris.
• The Kurumbas – a tribe of hunters and medicine men – believe that the art were the work of their ancestors.
• In the late 20th century during the course of a project of the C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation to survey and document the art and craft traditions of four Nilgiri tribes, the existence of an old artist – the only one left in the tribe – was discovered.
• The art are primarily ritualistic, describing various facets of tribal life in the remote forests of the Nilgiris.
• The Kurumbas love the hills and have an exquisite style of art. Originally, they drew with burnt twigs and coloured the art with a resin extracted from the bark of the Kino tree (Pterocarpus marsupium).
• Some of the art still use this method, which is slow and cumbersome, but beautiful. On paper, they have learned to use water and poster colours, which flow easier.
• The figures are flat and similar to Warli, with rectangular bodies. However, in spite of the 2-dimensional nature of the stick figures, the Kurumba artists are able to create lines of simple and fluids movements.
• The Kurumba trainees made large art on handmade paper and board, besides painted cards, notepad covers, etc.
• The choice of themes became more versatile as they gained confidence, and their choice varied from the vegetables and tubers to weddings and functions in their community.
• The depictions were of nature – trees and mountains, driving away bees while gathering honey, weddings and festivals.
• The solemnity of tribal life with prayers to the forefathers and communal participation at every stage of life was also brought out in the art.

Correct

Pattachitra or Patachitra is a general term for traditional, cloth-based scroll painting, based in the eastern Indian states of Odisha and West Bengal.
• Pattachitra art form is known for its intricate details as well as mythological narratives and folktales inscribed in it.
• The name Pattachitra has evolved from the Sanskrit words patta, meaning canvas, and chitra, meaning picture.
• Pattachitra is thus a painting done on canvas, and is manifested by rich colourful application, creative motifs, and designs, and portrayal of simple themes, mostly mythological in depiction.
• The traditions of pattachitra paintings are more than thousand years Most of these paintings depict stories of Hindu deities.
• A traditional per formative art from eastern India- the patachitra tradition is an integral part of intangible heritage and is an important essence of folk and traditional media.

Correct

Sittanavasal Cave (Arivar Koil) Paintings: Located 16 km northwest of
Pudukkottai town in Tamil Nadu, these famous rock-cut caves are known for the paintings
in the Jain temples. These murals have close resemblance to Bagh and Ajanta paintings.
The paintings are not only on the walls but also on the ceiling and pillars. The paintings are
with the theme of Jain Samavasarana (Preaching hall).

Correct

Located in the Keonjhar district of Odisha, these ancient fresco paintings
on a rock shelter are in a shape of half-opened umbrella.
•It is believed that this shelter acted like the royal hunting lodge.
•The most noticeable painting is that of a royal procession that dates back to 7th
century.
•The remains of Chola period paintings, belonging to 11th century, are also of
importance.

Correct

Sparrows, peacocks, squirrels and cows inhabit the world of Sohrai and
Khovar paintings. Popular in Hazaribagh region of Jharkhand, the folk art draws heavily
from the forest life. It is an art form practised by women at home, usually the mother-in-law
and daughter-in-law combine.

Correct

Bani Thani paintings are group of Indian miniature paintings of around

1750 attributed to Nihal Chand from the Marwar school of Kishangarh show Krishna and

Radha.

It is a totally different style with highly exaggerated features like long necks, large, almond

shaped eyes, and long fingers. This style of painting essentially depicts Radha and Krishna

as divine lovers, and beautifully portrays their mystical love.

Kishangarh miniature painting reached a peak in the eighteenth century, during the rule

of Raja Sawant Singh, who fell in love with a slave girl, Bani Thani and commanded his

artists to portray himself and her as Krishna and Radha.

Correct

Both statements are incorrect.

The tradition of Indian miniature painting can be traced from the 9th-10th century in the Buddhist Pala period palm leaf manuscript of eastern India and in the western India in the Jaina palm leaf manuscript.

 

With the introduction of paper in 12th century in India, illustrations on paper manuscript of larger format than the narrow palm leaf began to come into vogue.

 

With Mughal Empire, (1526-1757 AD) the studios were established at the Imperial court and Indian painting began a new phase in its evolution. It was from there that illustrated manuscripts, album miniatures, portraits, celebratory or genre scenes and various other paintings made their way allover India.

 

# The Life in Miniature project was launched recently as collaboration between the National

Museum, New Delhi, Ministry of Culture, and Google Arts and Culture.

Correct

Rogan painting is a centuries old art of cloth printing practiced in the Kutch

District of Gujarat. A word of Persian origin, Rogan means oil.

Rogan paint cloth printing process: Castor oil is heated and cast into cold water and the

thick residue is then mixed with natural colours. Then, using a stylus or blocks, this

resultant paint is meticulously transferred on to a cloth to make floral, animal (peacock)

and geometric patterns. The weather and density of the mix play an important role.

Correct

Kanheri caves: Kanheri the Kanhasela, Krishnagiri, Kanhagiri of ancient inscriptions, is located north of Mumbai and was a major Buddhist centre.

 Kanheri is located in the island of Salsette and 6 miles from Thana.

 The Kanheri Caves demonstrate the Buddhist influence on the art and culture of India.

 Kanheri comes from the Sanskrit Krishnagiri, which means Black Mountain.

 They were chiseled out of a massive basaltic rock outcropping.

 

Belum caves: are located in Andhra Pradesh.

Barabar caves: The Barabar Caves are the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India, mostly dating from the Maurya Empire (322–185 BCE), some with Ashokan inscriptions, located in the Bela Ganj Block of Gaya district, Bihar, India, 24 km north of Gaya.

 The caves were used by ascetics from the Ajivika sect, founded by Makkali Gosala, a contemporary of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, and of Mahavira, the last and 24th Tirthankara of Jainism.

 Also present at the site are several rock-cut Buddhist and Hindu sculptures.