RAS question
The famous 'Bani Thani' painting, often called the 'Mona Lisa of India', belongs to which school of painting?
Correct answer: (B) Kishangarh School.
Bani Thani, often called the Mona Lisa of India, belongs to the Kishangarh School of painting.
Explanation
The digital record of the National Museum, New Delhi identifies the work's title as Bani Thani and its object type as painting. It lists Kishangarh as the find place and records both the style and the school as Kishangarh. The record describes it as an 18th-century AD portrait of Bani Thani holding a lotus and a cup and wearing jewellery and costume. The answer therefore rests not only on the popular name Mona Lisa of India but also on the museum's classification: among the given choices, only option B, the Kishangarh School, matches the find place and the recorded style and school.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Jaipur School is incorrect because the National Museum record lists both the style and the school as Kishangarh, not Jaipur.
- (C) Mewar School is incorrect because the record lists Kishangarh as the find place and identifies both the style and the school as Kishangarh, not Mewar.
- (D) Bundi School is incorrect because the record identifies both the style and the school as Kishangarh, not Bundi.
Concept
For RAS art history, Rajasthan's miniature-painting schools should be studied together with their signature works, places and periods because questions often test these linked details. Bani Thani is a signature work of the Kishangarh School.