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
Why
Correct — option (2), A-ii, B-iii, C-i, D-iv.
A-ii, Kishangarh – Nihalchand. NCERT's An Introduction to Indian Art, Part II (Class XII) calls Nihal Chand Sawant Singh's most celebrated artist, working for him between 1735 and 1757. His painting of Bani Thani as Radha is in the National Museum, New Delhi.
B-iii, Bikaner – Ali Raza. NCERT records that Karan Singh of Bikaner employed Ustad Ali Raza, a master painter from Delhi, whose earliest work, around 1650, marks the beginnings of the Bikaner School.
C-i, Mewar – Sahibdin. In the reign of Jagat Singh I (1628–1652), Sahibdin painted a Ragamala (1628), the Bhagavata Purana (1648) and the Yuddha Kanda of the Ramayana (1652).
D-iv, Marwar – Shivdas. This is the fourth pair of the keyed code. Marwar's capital was Jodhpur, and NCERT places the last phase of Jodhpur painting in Maharaja Man Singh's reign (1803–1843).
Every option begins with A-ii, so B and C decide it: B-iii leaves options (2) and (3), and C-i leaves options (1) and (2). Only option (2), A-ii, B-iii, C-i, D-iv, survives both.
The idea to remember: Nihal Chand–Kishangarh, Ali Raza–Bikaner, Sahibdin–Mewar, Shivdas–Marwar.
Why the others are wrong
- (1)A-ii, B-iv, C-i, D-iii — This code gets Kishangarh and Mewar right but swaps the other two, pairing Bikaner with Shivdas and Marwar with Ali Raza.
Ali Raza belongs to Bikaner, where NCERT says Karan Singh employed him. Shivdas is the painter the keyed code pairs with Marwar, whose capital was Jodhpur.
- (3)A-ii, B-iii, C-iv, D-i — Kishangarh and Bikaner are right, but this code pairs Mewar with Shivdas and Marwar with Sahibdin.
Sahibdin is the Mewar master of Jagat Singh I's reign: NCERT quotes his 1628 Ragamala colophon, which names Rana Jagat Singh, Udaipur and 'chitara Sahivdin'. The keyed code pairs Shivdas with Marwar.
- (4)A-ii, B-i, C-iii, D-iv — Kishangarh and Marwar are right, but this code sends Ali Raza to Mewar and Sahibdin to Bikaner.
The Mewar pair fails: Ali Raza came from Delhi to work for Karan Singh of Bikaner. NCERT does list a Sahibdin among Ruknuddin's painters at Bikaner, a namesake of the Mewar master, so it is Mewar–Ali Raza that rules this code out.
Concept
Rajasthani painting grew as a set of court schools. A school typically takes the name of the court that patronised it, and its style reflects that court's taste, its links with the Mughals and its religious leanings.
Painters are tied to schools by inscriptions and colophons. Sahibdin's 1628 Ragamala colophon, quoted by NCERT, names Rana Jagat Singh, Udaipur and the painter.
Names can repeat across courts. NCERT lists a Sahibdin at Bikaner as well as the Mewar master, so the patron and date matter as much as the name.
RPSC's 2024 syllabus lists "Various schools of paintings and handicrafts" under the Architectural Tradition of Rajasthan.
NCERT names Mewar, Bundi, Kota, Jaipur, Bikaner, Kishangarh, Jodhpur (Marwar), Malwa and Sirohi among the principalities whose schools make up Rajasthani painting, largely between the sixteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
Three of the painters here are tied by NCERT to named patrons: Ali Raza to Karan Singh at Bikaner, Nihal Chand to Sawant Singh at Kishangarh and Sahibdin to Jagat Singh I at Mewar. At Jodhpur, NCERT ties the school's last phase to Man Singh.
Key facts
- NCERT (Class XII Fine Art) says Nihal Chand worked for Sawant Singh of Kishangarh between 1735 and 1757.
- Karan Singh of Bikaner employed Ustad Ali Raza, a master painter from Delhi; his earliest work there dates to around 1650.
- Sahibdin painted in Mewar under Jagat Singh I, including a Ragamala (1628) and the Yuddha Kanda of the Ramayana (1652).
- NCERT places the last phase of Jodhpur painting in Maharaja Man Singh's reign (1803–1843), with sets such as the Ramayana (1804) and Nath Charita (1824).
- NCERT says Ruknuddin was the master artist at Bikaner in Anup Singh's reign, with Ibrahim, Nathu, Sahibdin and Isa in his atelier.
Code: A-ii, B-iii, C-i, D-iv — option (2).
Study next
Common traps
- Matching by a painter's name alone: NCERT records a Sahibdin at Bikaner as well as the Mewar master, so check the patron and date.
- Treating Ali Raza as a Rajasthani-born painter: NCERT calls him a master painter from Delhi, employed at Bikaner by Karan Singh.
- Mixing Bikaner and Marwar because both were Rathore states: tie each painter to his court, Ali Raza to Karan Singh's Bikaner and Shivdas to Marwar.
A question can match schools to painters, name a painter and ask for the school, or name a famous work, such as Bani Thani, and ask for its school or painter.
A question can also name a patron and ask which painter worked for him.
Related PYQs
UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2023 and 2013 here once those papers are published on this site.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
The painter Nihal Chand, known for Bani Thani, worked for which ruler of Kishangarh?
- (a)Kishan Singh
- (b)Raj Singh
- (c)Sawant Singh
- (d)Man Singh
Answer(3) — NCERT says Nihal Chand worked for Sawant Singh between 1735 and 1757. Option (1) founded Kishangarh in 1609; option (2) ruled 1706–1748, when the style took shape; option (4) was the Kishangarh ruler of 1658–1706, not Nihal Chand's patron. - practice — not a real PYQ
Ustad Ali Raza, a master painter from Delhi, was employed by which ruler?
- (a)Jagat Singh I of Mewar
- (b)Karan Singh of Bikaner
- (c)Sawant Singh of Kishangarh
- (d)Man Singh of Jodhpur
Answer(2) — NCERT records that Karan Singh of Bikaner employed Ali Raza, whose work around 1650 begins the Bikaner School. Option (1) patronised Sahibdin, option (3) Nihal Chand, and option (4) is the ruler in whose reign NCERT places the last phase of Jodhpur painting.