RAS question
The Mewar school of painting flourished most under which ruler?
Correct answer: (C) Maharana Jagat Singh I (1628-1652).
The Mewar school of painting flourished most under Maharana Jagat Singh I, who ruled from 1628 to 1652.
Explanation
Maharana Jagat Singh I is the best answer because he was the greatest patron of the Mewar school, and the District Industries Center, Udaipur, Industrial Potential Survey of Udaipur 2017-2018 places many Mewar-style pictorial texts in the middle of the 17th century during his reign. This period matters because the Mewar school was a major Indian miniature tradition of the 17th and 18th centuries, known for bright colours, direct emotional appeal, decorative designs, and themes such as Ragamala, Krishna Leela, the Ramayana and the Bhagvata Purana. This aligns with the question's focus on the ruler under whom the school reached its strongest development.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Maharana Udai Singh II is linked here with founding Udaipur, while the artistic flourishing asked about is placed later, in Maharana Jagat Singh I's reign.
- (B) Maharana Fateh Singh ruled much later, when traditional Mewar painting had already declined from its peak.
- (D) Maharana Pratap's reign is associated in the options with conflict against the Mughals, not with the courtly artistic patronage central to this Mewar painting question.
Concept
This tests the RAS art-and-culture theme of Rajput painting schools, especially matching a regional school with its patron and period. It recurs because Rajasthan history questions often ask not only for styles, but for the courtly conditions under which those styles developed.