Art & Culture
🔒 Log in to trackPaintings, Textiles & Handicrafts
🔒 Log in to trackThis subtopic pairs an art with a place. A folk painting belongs to a state. A craft or textile belongs to a town. The exam also asks about the miniature schools and a few famous painters. Learn each pair with one feature word.
Folk and tribal paintings
| Painting | State | Hallmark |
|---|---|---|
| Madhubani (Mithila) | Bihar | Women's wall art; double-line borders; GI tag |
| Warli | Maharashtra | White rice-paste stick figures on mud walls |
| Pattachitra | Odisha (also West Bengal) | Cloth or palm-leaf scrolls; Jagannath themes |
| Phad | Rajasthan | Long cloth scrolls of Pabuji and Devnarayan |
| Kalamkari | Andhra Pradesh / Telangana | "Pen-work" on cloth: Srikalahasti (hand-drawn), Machilipatnam (block) |
| Gond | Madhya Pradesh | Tribal dots and dashes; Jangarh Singh Shyam |
| Pithora | Gujarat / MP | Rathwa and Bhil ritual walls |
| Kalighat | West Bengal | 19th-century Kolkata bazaar painting |
| Tanjore | Tamil Nadu | Gold foil and gems |
| Mysore | Karnataka | Gesso work and gold |
| Cheriyal | Telangana | Bright story scrolls |
| Saura | Odisha | Tribal wall art (idital) |
| Thangka | Sikkim, Ladakh, Arunachal | Buddhist cloth scrolls used in worship |
| Pichwai | Rajasthan (Nathdwara) | Backdrops of Srinathji (Krishna) |
Tip: Kalamkari means pen-work, because kalam is a pen. Andhra Pradesh holds the pen.
Miniature schools and painters
- Mughal painting began under Akbar with the Hamzanama workshops. It peaked under Jahangir, in portraits and naturalism. Akbar's atelier had Mir Sayyid Ali and Abdus Samad.
- Rajasthani schools include Kishangarh (the Bani Thani style), Mewar and Bundi.
- Pahari schools grew in the Himalayan foothills. Kangra is the best known, with Radha-Krishna themes. Basohli is also Pahari.
- Company paintings (late 18th to 19th century) were made for British patrons.
- The Bengal School was led by Abanindranath Tagore, whose Bharat Mata dates from 1905. E.B. Havell backed it and Nandalal Bose carried it on. It answered Western academic style with an Asian idiom.
- Raja Ravi Varma of Kerala painted in oils. He blended European realism with Indian subjects and spread them through mass lithographs.
Crafts and textiles by place
| Craft | Place |
|---|---|
| Bidriware (silver inlay on blackened metal) | Bidar, Karnataka |
| Chikankari (shadow embroidery) | Lucknow, UP |
| Phulkari (flower work) | Punjab |
| Kantha (running stitch) | West Bengal |
| Bandhani / Bandhej (tie-dye) | Gujarat and Rajasthan |
| Patola (double ikat silk) | Patan, Gujarat |
| Pochampally ikat | Telangana |
| Kanjeevaram silk | Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu |
| Banarasi brocade | Varanasi, UP |
| Chanderi and Maheshwari | Madhya Pradesh |
| Paithani | Maharashtra |
| Muga silk (golden) | Assam |
| Pashmina | Jammu & Kashmir |
| Blue pottery | Jaipur, Rajasthan |
| Channapatna lacquer toys | Karnataka |
| Brass ware | Moradabad, UP |
Rule: Many crafts are named after their town. Bidriware comes from Bidar. Patola comes from Patan.
Memory hooks
- Women's wall art from Mithila is Madhubani (Bihar).
- White figures on mud is Warli.
- A Jagannath scroll is Pattachitra.
- Silver on black is Bidri.
- Tie-dye is Bandhani.
- A Nathdwara backdrop is Pichwai.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Painting to state
A folk painting such as Madhubani, Warli, Pattachitra or Phad with four states, or a match-the-column.
Fix the big five: Madhubani Bihar, Warli Maharashtra, Pattachitra Odisha, Phad Rajasthan, Gond MP.
Thangka points to the Buddhist Himalaya (Ladakh or Sikkim).
Cross out the rest.
Each painting has one home state.
Madhubani (Mithila) painting is native to which state?
Show solutionHide solution
Mithila is a region.
It is traditionally women's wall art.
Bihar
Craft to place or GI tag
A craft such as Bidriware, Chikankari, Pochampally or Channapatna with a place question.
Recall the craft table.
Many crafts take their town's name.
Cross out places that do not fit.
Craft and town pairs are direct recall.
Bidriware, with silver inlay on blackened metal, comes from which place?
Show solutionHide solution
The craft is named after a town.
The town is in Karnataka.
Bidar, Karnataka
Painting to feature or theme
A hallmark is described: white stick figures, Jagannath scrolls, Pabuji epic cloth, or pen-work cotton.
Read the hallmark.
White rice-paste figures are Warli.
Jagannath scrolls are Pattachitra. Pabuji cloth is Phad. Pen-work is Kalamkari. A Srinathji backdrop is Pichwai.
Each painting has one signature feature.
White rice-paste stick figures on mud walls identify which painting?
Show solutionHide solution
They are on mud walls.
The state is Maharashtra.
Warli
Miniature schools and painters
Mughal painting under which emperor, the Kangra school, Bengal School painters, or Ravi Varma's medium.
Mughal: Akbar founds it, Jahangir peaks.
Pahari: Kangra.
Bengal School: Abanindranath Tagore and Nandalal Bose. Ravi Varma: oil and lithography.
Each school has one or two names to recall.
The Hamzanama series of paintings was produced under which ruler?
Show solutionHide solution
It was a workshop project.
It began Mughal painting.
Akbar
Textile to place
A cloth or embroidery with a place question, such as Phulkari, Patola, Kantha or Muga.
Recall the textile pairs.
Phulkari is Punjab. Patola is Patan. Muga is Assam.
Kantha is West Bengal. Paithani is Maharashtra.
Textile names point to their home towns or states.
Muga silk, known for its golden colour, comes from which state?
Show solutionHide solution
It is a golden silk.
The state is in the North-East.
Assam
Shortcuts that save time
Kalamkari is Andhra (the pen, kalam). Pattachitra is Odisha (cloth, patta). Phad is Rajasthan (Pabuji scroll). Madhubani is Bihar (Mithila).
Kalamkari art is chiefly linked with which state?
Show solutionHide solution
Kalam means pen.
Its centres are Srikalahasti and Machilipatnam.
Andhra Pradesh
The craft carries its town's name. Bidriware comes from Bidar (Karnataka). Patola comes from Patan. Chanderi comes from Chanderi.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Giving Warli to Bihar because it also uses wall art.
Warli is Maharashtra. Bihar's wall art is Madhubani.
Putting Pattachitra in Rajasthan.
Pattachitra is Odisha (also West Bengal). Rajasthan has Phad.
Placing Bidriware in Bihar.
Bidriware comes from Bidar, Karnataka.
Saying Jahangir founded Mughal painting.
Akbar founded it (Hamzanama). Jahangir's reign was its peak.
Placing Pochampally ikat in Tamil Nadu.
Pochampally is Telangana. Kanjeevaram silk is Tamil Nadu.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Madhubani is Bihar. Warli is Maharashtra. Pattachitra is Odisha. Phad is Rajasthan. Gond is MP. Thangka is Ladakh.
Mughal: Akbar founded it (Hamzanama). Jahangir was the peak. Kangra is the Pahari gem.
Bengal School: Abanindranath Tagore (Bharat Mata, 1905) and Nandalal Bose.
Raja Ravi Varma: oil paintings and lithographs.
Bidri is Bidar. Chikankari is Lucknow. Phulkari is Punjab. Pochampally is Telangana.
Practice: 15 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 10 questions
Suggested time 3 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.