Test Your Knowledge

1. What are some of the ways in which modern and contemporary artists in India have engaged with the subcontinent’s rich history and artistic heritage?

By emulating the style and borrowing iconography from historic monuments, murals and painting traditions
By drawing inspiration from mythology, folklore and cultural and spiritual traditions in the region
By using metaphors and representations borrowed from traditional imagery to highlight contemporary issues
By experimenting with traditional mediums and techniques
All of the above

2. The artist MF Hussain is best known for his ‘Bindu Paintings’.

True
False

3. Artists working with concepts and imagery borrowed from older traditions mostly replicate them exactly, without adding their own interpretation.

True
False

4. Art schools in India were started by the East India Company as a project to inculcate an appreciation of art and architecture in the country and to also provide formal training.

True
False

5. Drag and drop the name of the artist to the artwork:

6. What are some of the ways in which iconography can help in reading an artwork?

By serving as clues that point out to what the artist is referring to in their artwork
By guiding the eye across the artwork
By informing us of the artist’s creative choices in their interpretation
By directly supplying meaning to abstract forms in artworks

7. What are some of the common themes that you can observe in these artworks by PT Reddy and SH Raza?

An artistic ode to progress and scientific discovery
An exploration of the Neotantric Movement of the 1960s and 70s
An expression of the hippie culture of the 1960s and 70s
Pared down geometry that appears like Western abstraction but is rooted in Indian philosophy

8. Which of the following artists’ works from the 1960s and 70s were inspired by the geometric forms and the spiritual philosophies of Tantra, as seen in the following painting?

FN Souza
SH Raza
Tyeb Mehta
PT Reddy

9. Artworks from the past have often served as pedagogical tools for artists in India.

True
False

10. How has Gulammohamed Sheikh reinterpreted the visual vocabulary of the ‘Kavad’ or the portable shrine in his artworks?

By using panels in that convey many temporalities, spaces and cultural perspectives within a single artwork
By employing the layered, multiple narratives devices used of Kavad storytelling in his work
By using the exact same materials and techniques as the traditional art form
By borrowing the mythology based imagery of the Kavad in his visuals
All of the above

11. What does M.F Husain’s work and the backlash surrounding it inform us about art and art history in India?

The work of artists in contemporary India is profoundly affected by social and political issues
Perceptions about artworks can change rapidly over a short period of time with shifts in social and political contexts
Perceptions of artworks are sometimes dependent on the artist’s socio-cultural background, their ideology and are often tied to their identity.
All of the above

What was the main critique of the Bombay School of Art’s interpretation of the murals in the Ajanta caves?

The use of realism, light and shadow and overemphasised perspectives that are ‘Europeanised’ and not seen in the original murals.
The use of abstract forms in place of figural depictions that deviated from the original murals
The invention and addition of new styles, characters and costumes to the murals
The poor quality of the drawings which reflected a lack of training

13. Which of the following points best describes the Calcutta School’s interpretation of the Ajanta Murals?

An attempt to capture the original style of the Ajanta paintings, with the unnatural anatomies of figural forms and stylised forms
An attempt at recreating the delicate play of light and shadow in the original murals on paper, through the skillful use of colour
A return to an indigenous style of representation which was a digression from Western academic art that was taught in 19th century Bengal
All of the above

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Sara May 2, 2022

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