The paintings of Abanindranath Tagore are classified as:

Answer: (c) revivalistic

Abanindranath Tagore led the Bengal School, which turned away from academic Western realism and revived Indian (Mughal, Rajput and Ajanta-style) traditions as a nationalist statement, so his work is called revivalist.

• ✓ (c) The Bengal School was a Swadeshi-era revival of Indian pictorial traditions led by Abanindranath.
• ✗ (a) Realism was the academic style of colonial art schools, which the Bengal School rejected.
• ✗ (d) Impressionism is a European movement and not the label for his work.

Remember · Abanindranath Tagore and E. B. Havell: Bengal School, Swadeshi, revival of Indian styles; Bharat Mata is his best-known painting.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 An Introduction to Indian Art, Part II, Ch 6 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 An Introduction to Indian Art, Part II, Ch 6 (practise this chapter)

Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 1999, General Studies paper. UPSC did not publish an answer key for 1999: the answer shown is the one the sources above support. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 24 Oct 2026 (how we verify). · Report an error