CUET 2023 Fine Arts Question Paper with Answers & Solutions

Correct answer: A

The Calcutta Group, founded in 1943, had Prodosh Das Gupta (a sculptor) as one of its founding members and its first secretary. The other names were associated artists but Das Gupta was a founder member.

Correct answer: B

Rajasthani miniature paintings are also known as Rajput Paintings, as they developed in the Rajput courts of Rajasthan.

Correct answer: A

Babur established the Mughal Empire in India after defeating Ibrahim Lodi at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526.

Correct answer: D

The painting "Nanda, Yashoda and Krishna" (a Pahari/Guler-Kangra miniature) depicts Nanda and Yashoda's family migrating with household items, children and attendants, fitting the description of men and women carrying household items.

Correct answer: B

Kshitindranath Majumdar, a Bengal School artist known for Vaishnava themes, painted "Radhika". (Shiva and Sati is by Nandalal Bose.)

Correct answer: B

The painting "Radhika" described here is by Kshitindranath Majumdar, who depicted Radhika in a melancholic Vaishnava mood walking away from a lighted lamp.

Correct answer: D

"Journey's End" by Abanindranath Tagore is a watercolour executed in the wash and tempera technique characteristic of the Bengal School.

Correct answer: C

Ramkinkar Baij, based at Santiniketan, was deeply inspired by the Santhal tribals and made famous sculptures like "Santhal Family" representing them.

Correct answer: A

Gaganendranath Tagore was the first Indian artist to experiment with Cubism, creating mysterious halls and interiors using vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines in his own version of the Cubist style.

Correct answer: B

The painting "Yogini" (the Lady holding a Myna bird) is a celebrated work of the Bijapur Sub-School of the Deccan School of painting.

Correct answer: C

"Nanda, Yashoda and Krishna" is a Pahari miniature of the Kangra Sub-School, noted for its delicate naturalistic treatment of Krishna-lila themes.

Correct answer: C

The Kota style, famous for its hunting scenes, is a sub-school of the Rajasthani School of Painting (Rajasthan).

Correct answer: D

The painting "Rama meets members of his family at Chitrakut" depicts an episode from the Ramayana, where Bharata meets Rama in exile at Chitrakut.

Correct answer: B

The Baramasa (the twelve months) theme, depicting seasons and moods, is especially popular in the Bundi Sub-School of Rajasthani painting.

Correct answer: C

Kangra paintings predominantly use the theme of Nayak-Nayika Bheda (classification of heroes and heroines) along with Krishna-lila and Gita Govinda themes.

Correct answer: D

"Shiva and Sati" (also known as Sati) is a famous tempera-wash painting by Nandalal Bose of the Bengal School.

Correct answer: B

Lapis Lazuli is a semi-precious stone ground to produce the rich blue ultramarine pigment used in miniature paintings.

Correct answer: C

"Krishna Lifting Mount Govardhan" is a Mughal-period miniature attributed to the artist Miskin (Miskina), known for his crowded compositions and animal/nature scenes.

Correct answer: B

Under Aurangzeb, who discouraged painting and music, Mughal art and culture lost its vitality, leading to the dispersal of artists to provincial courts.

Correct answer: B

"Ragini Pathamsika" (Pathamsika Ragini) is a Deccan miniature belonging to the Ahmadnagar Sub-School, based on Indian classical music ragamala themes.

Correct answer: B

K. Laxma Goud's print "Man, Woman and Tree" draws on his rural Telangana childhood memories immersed in nature, depicting eroticised village life and figures with vegetation.

Correct answer: A

"Neem Kalam" refers to a delicate line drawing / fine outline drawing technique used in miniature painting.

Correct answer: C

Among the options, Amrita Sher-Gil is the modern Indian artist. (Sahibdin and Nihal Chand were Rajasthani miniature painters; Dana was a Deccani artist.) Though she is more accurately early 20th century, she is the only modern Indian artist among the choices.

Correct answer: B

"Woman with Child" (Mother and Child) is a noted oil painting by Amrita Sher-Gil, who frequently depicted Indian women and mother-child themes.

Correct answer: A

"Haldi Grinder" (Turmeric Grinders) is a well-known oil painting by Amrita Sher-Gil depicting rural Indian women grinding turmeric.

Correct answer: C

This famous Deccan miniature is titled "Chand Bibi playing Polo (Chaugan)", depicting the Deccan queen Chand Bibi mounted and playing polo.

Correct answer: A

The artist of "Chand Bibi playing Polo" is not recorded; the painting is attributed to an Unknown/anonymous Deccan artist.

Correct answer: B

Like other Deccan/Indian miniatures, "Chand Bibi playing Polo" is executed in watercolour and tempera on paper.

Correct answer: D

"Chand Bibi playing Polo" belongs to the Deccani School (Golconda Sub-School) of miniature painting.

Correct answer: A

The royal sport shown, played by riders on horseback with mallets and a ball (chaugan), is Polo.

Correct answer: C

The passage describes three stick-like family figures flinging arms upward crying for help in vain - this is Amarnath Sehgal's sculpture "Cries Un-Heard".

Correct answer: D

"Cries Un-Heard" is a sculpture by Amarnath Sehgal, known for his abstracted, elongated human figures.

Correct answer: A

Amarnath Sehgal's "Cries Un-Heard" is in the collection of the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi.

Correct answer: C

"Cries Un-Heard" by Amarnath Sehgal is made in the medium of bronze.

Correct answer: A

The agonised family figures crying out in vain represent the artist's homage to the millions of destitute and suffering people; the message is sympathy for the destitute.

Correct answer: A

Amarnath Sehgal's "Cries Un-Heard" is the free-standing sculpture made using sheets of oxidised copper. The other listed items are not made by this technique.

Correct answer: D

Abanindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose and Rabindranath Tagore are associated with the Bengal School. K.G. Subramanyan (modernist of Baroda/Santiniketan) and Krishna Reddy (printmaker/sculptor) do not belong to the Bengal School.

Correct answer: A

"Whirlpool" by Krishna Reddy is a viscosity print: colours blend into one another forming a powerful web of design (B), it uses the Viscosity Printing method (C), and the technique relies on how oil-based inks of different viscosities and water/oil resist react (D). It is not mix-media rural theme or a lonely woman, so (A) and (E) are excluded.

Correct answer: D

Mughal paintings are characterised by an impressive use of multiple perspectives (A), an enchanting palette of colours (C), and historical and (court/mystic) subjects (E). They were not based on primary colours only or classical music, so (B) and (D) are excluded.

Correct answer: B

Ragini Pathamsika, a Ragamala painting, is based on Indian classical music (B). It shows arabesque decoration in black on the domes (C), and beautifully dressed women wearing jewellery (E). It is not modern/abstract (A) and not two central human figures (D).

Correct answer: B

Mughal School miniatures illustrated court chronicles and Persian texts such as Hamza Nama and Tuzuk-i-Baburi (C), and Jahangirnama, Akbarnama and Padshahnama (D). Gita Govinda/Ragamala, Bhagavata/Skanda Purana, and Raginis are Rajasthani/Pahari themes.

Correct answer: D

The Rasamanjari (by Bhanudatta) is a Sanskrit treatise on Rasa / poetics (D) that classifies nayakas and nayikas (heroes and heroines) according to their nature and age (E). It is famously illustrated in the Basohli style.

Correct answer: A

Wasli is the prepared surface for miniature painting: layered thin sheets of handmade paper glued together to the desired thickness (B), then burnished with an agate stone to give a smooth uniform sheen (E).

Correct answer: C

The image is an etching technique on paper (A), based on folk tradition and popular practice (C), and is a pictorial image of a Goddess (D). It is not an intaglio-only treatment nor a village scene, so the combination (A),(C),(D) fits.

Correct answer: A

Gaganendranath Tagore created his Cubist effects using vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines, as stated in the earlier question, so the correct combination is (C), (D), (E).

Correct answer: C

Shah Jahan period - Ustad Faquirullah Khan (III); Akbar period - Jagannath (IV, an Akbari atelier painter); Jahangir period - Ustad Mansur (I), the famous flora-fauna painter; Humayun period - Mir Sayyid Ali (II), who came from Persia with Humayun. This matches option (C).

Correct answer: A

Cries-Un-Heard - three stick-like thin figures (III); Ganesha - Ganesha playing Vina (IV); Triumph of Labour (D.P. Roy Chowdhury) - four men trying to move/heave a rock (I); Santhal Family (Ramkinkar Baij) - a man carrying his children in a double basket joined by a pole (II). This matches option (A).

Correct answer: D

Madonna and Child - Basawan (II); Marriage Procession of Dara Shikoh - Ustad Faquirullah Khan (IV); Kabir and Raidas - Haji Madni (III); Falcon and a Bird Rest - Ustad Mansur (I, the master of bird/animal studies). This matches option (D).

Correct answer: C

Krishna on Swing - Bikaner Sub-School (IV); Chaugan Player - Jodhpur Sub-School (III); Maru Ragini - Mewar Sub-School (II); Bani Thani - Kishangarh Sub-School (I). This matches option (C).

Correct answer: B

Pabuji ki Phad - Bhilwara (III, the phad scroll tradition); Raja Aniruddha Singh Hara - Bundi (I); Yuddha Kanda of Ramayana - Mewar (IV, the Mewar Ramayana); Krishna embracing gopis - Guler (II). This matches option (B).