Q100. Which Mughal artist received the title Nadir-ul-Asr?
[UP PGT (Arts), 10 May 2026]
- (A) Ustad Mansur
- (B) Bichitr
- (C) Aqa Riza
- (D) Bishan Das
Answer: (A) Ustad Mansur
Explanation: Jahangir bestowed the title Nadir-ul-Asr, meaning Wonder of the Age, on Ustad Mansur. Mansur excelled in natural-history studies, portraying birds, animals and plants with extraordinary precision. His celebrated bird studies demonstrate the growing observational realism of Jahangir-era painting.
Q99. Who is credited with the miniature painting Marriage Procession of Dara Shikoh?
[UP PGT (Arts), 10 May 2026]
- (A) Abul Hasan
- (B) Miskin
- (C) Haji Madni
- (D) Ustad Mansur
Answer: (C) Haji Madni
Explanation: Haji Madni is associated with Marriage Procession of Dara Shikoh, a later Mughal or provincial Mughal painting. It commemorates the prince’s wedding procession, showing richly dressed riders and attendants. The work illustrates the continued attraction of imperial ceremonies to artists after the event itself.
Q98. Which two Persian painters were brought into the Mughal artistic tradition through Humayun’s patronage?
[UP PGT (Arts), 10 May 2026]
- (A) Abdus Samad and Farrukh Beg
- (B) Ustad Mansur and Bichitr
- (C) Mir Sayyid Ali and Abdus Samad
- (D) Aqa Riza and Farrukh Beg
Answer: (C) Mir Sayyid Ali and Abdus Samad
Explanation: Humayun encountered Safavid painting while living in Persia and engaged Mir Sayyid Ali and Abdus Samad. They helped establish the imperial painting workshop. Under Akbar their Persian-derived practices combined with Indian artistic approaches to form a distinctive Mughal miniature tradition.
Q97. Which pair of Akbar-era painters is especially associated with adapting European or Christian themes?
[UP PGT (Arts), 10 May 2026]
- (A) Ustad Mansur and Manohar
- (B) Behzad and Miskin
- (C) Basawan and Kesu Das
- (D) Daswanth and Tara
Answer: (C) Basawan and Kesu Das
Explanation: Basawan and Kesu Das were among the painters who studied European prints available at Akbar’s court. They experimented with modelling, depth, shading and Christian imagery. Their adaptations did not simply copy Europe; they incorporated foreign devices within Mughal manuscript painting.
Q96. Which illustrated manuscript was a major early painting project of Akbar’s imperial atelier?
[UP PGT (Arts), 10 May 2026]
- (A) Hamzanama
- (B) Akbarnama
- (C) Ain-i-Akbari
- (D) Anwar-i-Suhaili
Answer: (A) Hamzanama
Explanation: The Hamzanama narrates adventures associated with Amir Hamza. Akbar’s workshop produced an exceptionally large series of illustrated folios, traditionally estimated at about 1,400. Its ambitious scale encouraged collaboration among painters and helped consolidate the energetic early Mughal pictorial style.
Q95. Which painting is associated with Jahangir’s reign and its naturalistic artistic interests?
[UP PGT (Arts), 10 May 2026]
- (A) Krishna Lifting Mount Govardhan
- (B) Akbar Hunting with Cheetahs
- (C) Falcon on a Bird-Rest
- (D) Marriage Procession of Dara Shikoh
Answer: (C) Falcon on a Bird-Rest
Explanation: Falcon on a Bird-Rest is associated with Jahangir’s interest in faithful depictions of birds and animals and is attributed to Ustad Mansur. The image exemplifies close observation, refined line and careful plumage detail rather than the crowded storytelling compositions of earlier workshops.
Q94. In Mughal painting, what does the term nim qalam denote?
[UP PGT (Arts), 10 May 2026]
- (A) Drawing exclusively in gold
- (B) Monochrome ink or lightly tinted drawing
- (C) Engraved metal-point drawing
- (D) Fully opaque multicolour painting
Answer: (B) Monochrome ink or lightly tinted drawing
Explanation: Nim qalam describes a restrained drawing technique using ink washes and limited colour rather than a brilliant, opaque palette. Fine lines and delicate tonal shading define the forms. Mughal artists employed it for drawings and studies requiring subtle observation.
Q93. What is wasli in the technique of Indian miniature painting?
[UP PGT (Arts), 10 May 2026]
- (A) A polishing gemstone
- (B) Powdered mineral pigment
- (C) Several handmade paper sheets pasted together
- (D) A gum-based pigment binder
Answer: (C) Several handmade paper sheets pasted together
Explanation: Wasli is a strong painting support formed by pasting together layers of handmade paper. After careful preparation and smoothing, its surface could receive minute brushwork and repeated colour applications. It was widely used for Mughal, Rajput and other Indian miniatures.
Q92. Which scholar systematically distinguished Rajasthani painting from the Mughal court style?
[UP PGT (Arts), 10 May 2026]
- (A) Ananda Coomaraswamy
- (B) M. S. Randhawa
- (C) Percy Brown
- (D) Karl Khandalavala
Answer: (A) Ananda Coomaraswamy
Explanation: Ananda K. Coomaraswamy helped establish Rajput painting as an identifiable artistic tradition in modern art history. He contrasted its devotional, poetic and regional impulses with imperial Mughal art, while later scholarship has also emphasized exchanges between these schools.
Q91. Who is regarded as an important early pioneer of the Patna Kalam painting school?
[UP PGT (Arts), 10 May 2026]
- (A) Abanindranath Tagore
- (B) Sewak Ram
- (C) Amrita Sher-Gil
- (D) Raja Ravi Varma
Answer: (B) Sewak Ram
Explanation: Sewak Ram is commonly identified as an early master of Patna Kalam. The school emerged amid the dispersal of late Mughal-trained artists and changing patrons. Its paintings increasingly depicted craftspeople, occupations and everyday urban activity rather than only imperial subjects.