Which artist was inspired by folk-life and folk-art?

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 3:
Yamini Roy is universally recognized as the artist who made the most definitive and revolutionary break from both Western academic realism and the classical revivalism of the Bengal School, turning instead to indigenous folk-art traditions. He was profoundly inspired by the simple, powerful aesthetic of the Kalighat Pat, a form of popular bazaar painting from Calcutta. Roy consciously adopted the stylized, simplified forms, bold outlines, and flat, pure colours found in these folk-art and traditional terracotta works, creating a unique synthesis of primitive modernism and authentic Indian expression. His adoption of this style in the 1920s was a seminal moment that championed the beauty and vitality of India's village and tribal artistic heritage, making the common man’s art the foundation of his modern idiom.

The incorrect option is 1:
Amrita Shergil, a pivotal figure in modern Indian art, was indeed inspired by Indian life and culture, but her stylistic inspiration was primarily European. Having studied in Paris, her vibrant colour palette and compositional style were heavily influenced by Post-Impressionists like Gauguin and the Parisian avant-garde. While she depicted Indian subjects, such as peasants and village women, with a deep emotional resonance, her artistic technique and form were rooted in the modern European art movements, rather than a direct stylistic adoption of Indian folk-art principles.

The incorrect option is 2:
Nandlal Bose was a central figure of the Bengal School, a movement focused on nationalistic revivalism through Indian art. While Bose was deeply connected to Indian cultural life and worked extensively in rural areas, his primary stylistic inspiration was classical. His work draws upon the refined traditions of Ajanta murals, Mughal and Pahari miniature paintings, and the Japanese Wash technique. Although he promoted Indian aesthetics, his work is categorized as a classical Indian revival rather than the bold, stripped-down simplicity of *folk art* as seen in Yamini Roy's oeuvre.

The incorrect option is 4:
K. K. Hebbar was a distinguished mid-20th-century artist whose work was inspired by the life, landscapes, and social themes of Karnataka and Kerala. Hebbar’s style is best described as a form of lyrical expressionism, characterized by rhythmic lines and a move towards abstract simplification. While he painted scenes of rural life and social struggles, his mature style was part of the modern, internationalist trend in Indian art, focusing more on dynamic movement and narrative rather than stylistically deriving his visual language directly from a specific, primitive folk-art form.