The painter who acquired skills in the technique of oil painting from "Theodore Jenson".

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 2:
Raja Ravi Varma (1848–1906) is the celebrated artist who is famously associated with acquiring skills in European oil painting from Theodore Jenson, a Dutch or British portrait painter who was commissioned at the court of Travancore around 1866. Varma's uncle, Raja Raja Varma, arranged for his training, but the technique of oil painting was closely guarded by local artists. Varma, however, was allowed to observe Jenson at work, and through this clandestine observation coupled with his own determined practice, he successfully mastered the European academic style, particularly its realism and handling of the oil medium. This mastery allowed him to create a revolutionary fusion of Indian mythological themes with Western painting techniques, which profoundly changed the course of modern Indian art.

The incorrect option is 1:
E. B. Havell was a British art administrator and a staunch advocate for the revival of indigenous Indian art forms, especially the Mughal and Pahari miniature traditions, at the Calcutta School of Art. He actively opposed the European academic style, including oil painting, which Raja Ravi Varma embraced. Therefore, he did not learn European oil painting from Jenson; instead, he represented a movement that was ideologically opposed to Varma's artistic approach.

The incorrect option is 3:
A. R. Chughtai (Abdul Rahman Chughtai) was an artist of the Bengal School, a movement that was established partly as a reaction against the Western influence that Varma represented. Chughtai, born in the late 19th century, was known for his ethereal, Wash-style paintings, often drawing from Mughal and Persian aesthetics. He has no connection to learning oil painting from Theodore Jenson in the 19th-century Travancore court.

The incorrect option is 4:
Ravi Shankar Rawal was a 20th-century artist from Gujarat known for his work in journalism and teaching art, particularly advocating for a fusion of Indian and Western techniques. However, he was born much later than the period when Theodore Jenson was active in India, making the claim that he was Jenson's pupil historically inaccurate. His artistic education and career took place decades after Jenson's visit to Travancore.