The renowned artist Muhammed Shah was a court artist (Painter) of which Maharaja of Jaipur ?
- (1)Sawai Ram Singh II
- (2)Sawai Jagat Singh
- (3)Sawai Pratap Singh
- (4)Sawai Jai Singh
Answer
Why
Correct — option (4), Sawai Jai Singh.
NCERT's An Introduction to Indian Art, Part II (Class XII Fine Art) dates Sawai Jai Singh's reign to 1699–1743. It says the Jaipur School thrived under him and emerged as a well-defined independent school.
NCERT adds that court records show some Mughal painters were brought from Delhi into his atelier, and that he reorganised the Suratkhana, the place where paintings were made and stored.
Naming his artists, the textbook calls Sahibram an accomplished portrait painter in his atelier and then says: 'Muhammad Shah was another artist.' That sentence sits in the paragraph on Jai Singh's reign, so the court painter in the stem belongs to option (4), Sawai Jai Singh.
The idea to remember: Sahibram and Muhammad Shah worked in Sawai Jai Singh's atelier; Sawai Pratap Singh, in Jaipur's second thriving period, employed around 50 artists.
Why the others are wrong
- (1)Sawai Ram Singh II — NCERT places Muhammad Shah in the reign of Sawai Jai Singh, which ended in 1743. Wikipedia gives Ram Singh II's reign as 1835–1880, nearly a century later.
Wikipedia describes Ram Singh II as an avid photographer who photographed members of his court. Sawai Ram Singh II fits a question on the Jaipur ruler known for photography, not one on Jai Singh's painters.
- (2)Sawai Jagat Singh — Muhammad Shah is named in NCERT's paragraph on Sawai Jai Singh, who died in 1743. Wikipedia gives Jagat Singh II's reign as 1803–1818, sixty years after Jai Singh's reign ended.
Sawai Jagat Singh was the son and successor of Sawai Pratap Singh, according to Wikipedia.
- (3)Sawai Pratap Singh — NCERT calls Pratap Singh's reign (1779–1803) a second thriving period for Jaipur painting, when Mughal influence receded and a Jaipur style blending Mughal and local features emerged.
But Muhammad Shah appears in the earlier paragraph on Jai Singh. Sawai Pratap Singh is the ruler NCERT says employed around 50 artists.
Concept
NCERT traces the Jaipur School to Amer, the former capital, which it calls the nearest of all large Rajput states to the Mughal capitals, Agra and Delhi.
The textbook follows the school ruler by ruler. Under Sawai Jai Singh it became a well-defined school with painters from Delhi. Sawai Ishwari Singh (1743–1750) had hunts and elephant fights painted; Sawai Madho Singh (1750–1767) had his court life recorded.
Under Sawai Pratap Singh (1779–1803), NCERT says, Mughal influence receded and a Jaipur style with reformulated aesthetics emerged, reviving themes such as the Gita Govinda, Ragamala and Bhagavata Purana.
RPSC's 2023 syllabus lists "Various schools of paintings and handicrafts." under History, Art, Culture, Literature, Tradition & Heritage of Rajasthan.
NCERT describes the Rajasthani schools as those of princely kingdoms and thikanas such as Mewar, Bundi, Kota, Jaipur, Bikaner, Kishangarh and Jodhpur, largely between the sixteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
For Jaipur it adds that by the early nineteenth century gold was used lavishly, and that the school preferred large formats and produced life-size portraits.
Key facts
- NCERT dates Sawai Jai Singh's reign to 1699–1743 and says he founded Jaipur in 1727, shifting from Amer.
- Under Jai Singh, per NCERT, some Mughal painters came from Delhi and the Suratkhana, where paintings were made and stored, was reorganised.
- NCERT names Sahibram, a portrait painter, and Muhammad Shah as artists of Sawai Jai Singh's atelier.
- Sawai Ishwari Singh (1743–1750) had hunts and elephant fights painted; Sawai Madho Singh (1750–1767) had court life recorded, per NCERT.
- NCERT says Sawai Pratap Singh (1779–1803) employed around 50 artists in Jaipur's second thriving period.
Muhammad Shah: Sawai Jai Singh's reign, option (4). Source: NCERT, An Introduction to Indian Art, Part II (Class XII).
Study next
Common traps
- Crediting every Jaipur painter to Sawai Pratap Singh because NCERT says he employed around 50 artists; Muhammad Shah is named under Sawai Jai Singh.
- Mixing Jaipur rulers named Jai Singh: NCERT's Sawai Jai Singh ruled 1699–1743, while Wikipedia names a later Jai Singh III as Ram Singh II's father.
- Reading 'Maharaja of Jaipur' as excluding rulers who began at Amer: NCERT says Jai Singh founded Jaipur in 1727 and shifted there from Amer.
A question can name a court painter and ask for the ruler, or name a ruler and ask which painter worked in his atelier.
A question can also match Rajasthani schools to their painters, or ask which Jaipur ruler reorganised the Suratkhana.
Related PYQs
Match List – I with List – II regarding famous painting styles and their painters of Rajasthan and select the correct option : List – I – List – II A. Kishangarh – i. Sahibdeen B. Bikaner – ii. Nihalchand C. Mewar – iii. Ali Raza D. Marwar – iv. Shivdas Codes :
- (1) A-ii, B-iv, C-i, D-iii
- (2) A-ii, B-iii, C-i, D-iv
- (3) A-ii, B-iii, C-iv, D-i
- (4) A-ii, B-i, C-iii, D-iv
Answer(2)
Same syllabus head, painters matched to schools: that question pairs Kishangarh, Bikaner, Mewar and Marwar with Nihalchand, Ali Raza, Sahibdeen and Shivdas (RPSC's key: A-ii, B-iii, C-i, D-iv). This one names one Jaipur painter and asks for the ruler whose court he served.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
According to NCERT's account of the Jaipur School, which ruler reorganised the Suratkhana, where paintings were made and stored?
- (a)Sawai Pratap Singh
- (b)Sawai Jai Singh
- (c)Sawai Ishwari Singh
- (d)Sawai Madho Singh
Answer(2) — NCERT credits Sawai Jai Singh (1699–1743) with reorganising the Suratkhana. It links option (1) with around 50 artists, option (3) with paintings of hunts and elephant fights, and option (4) with recording court life. - practice — not a real PYQ
NCERT says one Jaipur ruler employed around 50 artists, in a second thriving period for Jaipur painting. Who was he?
- (a)Sawai Jai Singh
- (b)Sawai Madho Singh
- (c)Sawai Pratap Singh
- (d)Sawai Ishwari Singh
Answer(3) — NCERT says Sawai Pratap Singh (1779–1803) employed around 50 artists. It credits option (1) with bringing Mughal painters from Delhi, option (2) with recording court life, and option (4) with paintings of his leisure pursuits.