CBSE Class 12 Sculpture Sample Paper 2026 27 with Solutions PDF Download

SECTION -A

1. Select the right answer from the given option

i. The Deccan style evolved from: [1 Mark]
A. Persian and Mughal miniature paintings
B. Jain manuscripts and Persian miniature paintings
C. Jain manuscripts and Mughal miniature paintings
D. Pala manuscripts and Persian miniature paintings

Answer: A. Persian and Mughal miniature paintings

Teacher's Note:
a) The marking scheme gives option A: Persian and Mughal miniature paintings.
b) Jain and Pala manuscripts are linked with the early manuscript traditions, not the Deccan style.

ii. Assertion (A): The use of strong, warm, and bright basic colours along with stylized depictions of nature in Rajasthani miniature paintings has a close resemblance to Indian manuscripts.
Reason (R): Rajasthani painters developed their own unique style that elevated the epitome of female beauty. [1 Mark]
A. Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
B. Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.
C. A is true, but R is false.
D. A is false, but R is true.

Answer: B. Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.

Teacher's Note:
a) Both statements are true, but R talks about female beauty, not about colours and nature.
b) First check each statement separately, then check whether R explains A.

iii. The sculpture by Ramkinkar Baij depicts an idealized: [1 Mark]
A. Royal family
B. Rural family
C. Santhal family
D. Nomadic family

Answer: C. Santhal family

Teacher's Note:
a) Ramkinkar Baij's well-known sculpture shows a Santhal family.
b) Do not choose "Rural family"; the question needs the specific community.

iv. Name the graphic print created by the famous printmaker Jyoti Bhatt: [1 Mark]
A. Man, Woman and Tree
B. Ganesha
C. Off the Walls
D. Devi

Answer: D. Devi

Teacher's Note:
a) Devi is the print by Jyoti Bhatt in the course.
b) Ganesha in this paper is P. V. Janakiram's metal sculpture, not a print.

v. Which emotions are not portrayed in the painting Kabir and Raidas? [1 Mark]
A. Brotherhood and devotion
B. Friendship and dedication
C. Spiritual and socio-ethical sensibility
D. Hatred and jealousy

Answer: D. Hatred and jealousy

Teacher's Note:
a) Read the word "not" carefully; the answer is the emotion missing from the painting.
b) The saints Kabir and Raidas stand for devotion and brotherhood, so hatred and jealousy do not fit.

vi. In which of the following paintings has Krishna been depicted larger than life? [1 Mark]
A. Krishna Lifting Mount Govardhan
B. Krishna on a Swing
C. Krishna with Gopis
D. Nand and Yashoda with Krishna and Kinsmen Going to Vrindavan

Answer: A. Krishna Lifting Mount Govardhan

Teacher's Note:
a) In this Akbar-period painting, Krishna dominates the scene as he lifts the mountain.
b) Larger size is used to show importance, not real proportion.

vii. What does the blue colour signify in our Indian national flag? [1 Mark]
A. Courage and sacrifice
B. Peace and truth
C. Sky and ocean
D. Chivalry and Prosperity

Answer: C. Sky and ocean

Teacher's Note:
a) The blue colour is used for the chakra (wheel) in the centre of the flag.
b) Do not mix it up with the meanings of saffron, white and green.

viii. Assertion (A): Mansoor’s paintings depict flora and fauna, specifically birds and animals.
Reason (R): His painting style was inspired by Persian art and European realism. [1 Mark]
A. Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
B. Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.
C. A is true, but R is false.
D. A is false, but R is true.

Answer: A. Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.

Teacher's Note:
a) Mansoor is known for his realistic studies of birds and animals.
b) The marking scheme treats the Persian and European realistic influence as the explanation of his style.

SECTION -B

2(A) Under the patronage of a Mughal emperor a variety of subjects, including detailed political conquests, court scenes, secular scenes, portraits were depicted.
i. Identify the emperor and one painting from your course of study belonging to his period.
ii. Write about the compositional arrangement of the painting. [2 Marks]

Answer:
i. The emperor is Akbar. The painting Krishna Lifting Mount Govardhana belongs to the Akbar period.
ii. Krishna lifts Mount Govardhana like an umbrella over his friends and their cattle, and supports it for seven days. Blue-skinned and dressed in saffron, Krishna dominates the scene in his familiar pose as the cowherd lord. The painting is by Miskin, done in the Persian style in tempera. The mountain, rocks and figures show Persian influence in costumes, facial features, beards and moustaches.

Teacher's Note:
a) Part i needs two facts: the emperor (Akbar) and the painting.
b) In part ii, stress that Krishna is the dominant central figure holding the mountain like an umbrella.

OR

2(B) Explain a Deccan miniature painting keeping in mind the use of colour harmony, spatial arrangement, decorative motifs, perspective and stylistic features. [2 Marks]

Answer:
1. Chand Bibi Playing Polo is a Deccan painting in watercolour with tempera. The setting is a garden or polo ground, arranged with a foreground and a background.
2. It draws on Persian, Turkish and local Deccan visual traditions. It combines Persian and Turkish decorative sensibility with a local colour palette. Its forms echo Islamic-Persian metaphors but are rooted in the Indian spatial and cultural context, and it reflects the cosmopolitan culture of the Deccan.

Teacher's Note:
a) Name the painting and its medium first, then cover the features asked.
b) Key words: Persian, Turkish and local Deccan influences, and cosmopolitan culture.

3(A) In the composition of this painting, two panels depict two different parts of a scene.
i. Identify the painting, Artist, School and Medium.
ii. How has the artist aesthetically divided the composition into two parts without making clear panel division? [2 Marks]

Answer:
i. The painting is Krishna on Swing by the artist Nuruddin. It belongs to the Rajasthani school, Bikaner sub-school, and the medium is watercolour/tempera.
ii. It is a vertical painting divided into two panels that still give the illusion of a single painting. The division is made by two hills and by a horizontal architectural or ground line. The upper panel shows Krishna on a swing in an orange dhoti and crown in a bluish hue, with Radha watching from a balcony on the other side. The lower panel shows a garden with trees and foliage, where Krishna and Radha are seated separately.

Teacher's Note:
a) Part i needs all four items: painting, artist, school and medium.
b) In part ii, name the dividing element: the hills and the horizontal ground or architectural line.

OR

3(B) What are the characteristics of Mewar miniature paintings? Explain it through a painting from your course of study. [2 Marks]

Answer:
1. Mewar paintings belong to the Rajasthani school. They represent romantic legends and have slightly shorter figure proportions, side profiles (ek chashm), flat, warm basic colours and bold lines that resemble manuscripts.
2. The painting Maru Ragini by Sahibdin (watercolour/tempera) classifies Maru as the ragini of Raga Shri. It describes her physical beauty and its effect on her beloved.

Teacher's Note:
a) Give the characteristics first, then support them with one painting.
b) Remember the pair: Maru Ragini by Sahibdin, Mewar sub-school.

4(A) What are the contributions of Nihal Chand towards the development of Kishangarh miniature paintings? Explain with reference to one of his paintings. [2 Marks]

Answer:
1. Nihal Chand of the Rajasthani (Kishangarh) school developed his own style of elongated facial features: large, long, half-closed eyes, arched eyebrows and a pointed chin.
2. His painting Bani Thani is a portrait of Radha with sharp, elongated features, a lotus bud, exaggerated feminine beauty, a transparent dupatta and heavy traditional jewellery. Her face is unique for its deeply curved eyes, exaggerated arched eyebrows, pointed nose, serpentine curl of hair spiralling down the cheek, thin lips, pronounced chin and lotus-shaped hands.

Teacher's Note:
a) Bani Thani is the key painting to name for Nihal Chand.
b) List the special facial features clearly, as these are the main value points.

OR

4(B) In a Pahari miniature painting depicting a delightful scene of Krishna with the Gopis from Gita Govinda.
i. Describe Manaku style of painting.
ii. Explain its compositional arrangement. [2 Marks]

Answer:
i. The painting is Krishna with Gopis by Manaku. It is done in watercolour with the tempera technique.
ii. Expressive, rhythmic lines are used to suggest motion. Vibrant contrasting colours separate the figures and create a sense of movement, along with the lively (kinetic) postures of the figures.

Teacher's Note:
a) Name the painting, artist and medium in part i.
b) For composition, use the key words rhythmic line, contrasting colour and movement.

5(A) i. Write the name of the sculpture, artist, medium and place of installation that emphasize on the contribution of human labour in nation building.
ii. Describe the Sculpture. [2 Marks]

Answer:
i. The sculpture is Triumph of Labour, a large open-air sculpture in bronze by Debi Prasad Roy Chowdhury (1899-1975). It was installed at Marina Beach, Chennai, on the eve of Republic Day in 1959.
ii. It shows four men trying to move a rock, showing the contribution of human labour in nation building. The men wrestle with nature doggedly and powerfully, an image of labour against the elements of nature. The artist shows their strong muscles, bones and veins.

Teacher's Note:
a) Part i has four items: name, artist, medium (bronze) and place (Marina Beach, Chennai).
b) In part ii, mention the four men moving a rock and their strong musculature.

OR

5(B) The experience of the Bengal Famine of 1943, left a lasting impression on the print maker. His early sketches and drawings were spot and life drawings of helpless victims of the famine, suffering and dying peasants, sick and infirm destitute, and portraits of men, women, children and animals.
i. Identify the printmaker and his art work from your course.
ii. Explain how these emotions are depicted in the print. [2 Marks]

Answer:
i. The printmaker is Somnath Hore, and his print is Children.
ii. The print shows a family of a mother and children with distorted, skeletal bodies: visible bones, large heads and hollow cheeks. The close, crowded composition suggests confinement, helplessness and powerlessness, and it evokes empathy, pity and moral outrage.

Teacher's Note:
a) Part i: Somnath Hore and the print Children.
b) In part ii, link the skeletal forms to the suffering of the famine.

6(A) i. Who was called the father of Folk Renaissance in India. Write the painting from your course.
ii. Explain the styles and techniques explored by the artist. [2 Marks]

Answer:
i. Jamini Roy (1887-1972) was called the father of the folk renaissance in India. The painting in the course is his gouache painting on paper made in 1940.
ii. He used the expressive power of folk lines, with bold simplifications and thick outlines made with sweeping brush strokes.

Teacher's Note:
a) Name Jamini Roy and give the medium, gouache on paper.
b) Key words for style: folk lines, bold simplification, thick outlines, sweeping brush strokes.

OR

6(B) Describe the sculpture reflecting three figures which are stick like and shown in flat rhythmical planes. [2 Marks]

Answer:
1. This is a bronze sculpture made by Amarnath Sahgal in 1958. Although it is abstract, the three stick-like figures in flat rhythmical planes are easy to read as a family: husband, wife and child. They fling their arms up and cry out for help in vain.
2. Their helplessness, shown by the hand gestures, is given a permanent shape. The work can be read as socialist, a homage to millions of destitute families whose cries fall on deaf ears. The poet Mulk Raj Anand wrote movingly about it, and it is in the collection of the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.

Teacher's Note:
a) Identify the artist (Amarnath Sahgal), medium (bronze) and year (1958).
b) Explain the family of three and the raised arms showing helplessness.

SECTION-C

Attempt any two questions from the given options

7. Analyse the role of the Bengal School of Art in fostering nationalist sentiment and contributing to the Indian freedom movement with reference to its themes, style, and iconic works. [6 Marks]

Answer:
1. Introduction: The Bengal School of Art grew in Bengal in the early twentieth century, at the time of the Indian freedom movement. Its artists wanted an art that was Indian in spirit and style, and their work became a way of expressing nationalist feeling.
2. Themes and support to the freedom movement: The artists made posters and illustrations for weekly magazines and newspapers that supported the freedom fighting movement. The first image of Bharat Mata came from this school, and it became a strong symbol of the nation.
3. Style: The artists boycotted Western mediums and styles. Instead, they explored Indian styles and techniques for their artworks, so their art itself became a form of swadeshi and national pride.
4. Iconic works: Well-known works linked with this movement include Journey's End, Mother and Child, Radhika, Shiv and Sati and Mother India. Through such works, the Bengal School gave the Indian people a visual identity of their own and helped build nationalist sentiment.

Teacher's Note:
a) Cover all three parts asked: themes, style and iconic works.
b) Key value points: first image of Bharat Mata, posters and illustrations, and rejection of Western style.
c) Name at least three iconic works to support your answer.

8. The sub-schools of Rajasthan had a lot of similarity yet developed differently due to political and physical features. Describe the following on the basis of the given statement

i. Chaugan player [3 Marks]

Answer:
1. This painting by the artist Dana shows a princess playing polo (chaugan) with her companions. It represents Jodhpur painting of Man Singh's reign. It was made in 1810 and is in the collection of the National Museum, New Delhi.
2. It may or may not be from the main court, as it shows the influence of many schools: Mughal in the way the women are shown, Deccani in the horses, and Bundi and Kishangarh in the facial features.
3. The flat green background shows the local preference for flat surfaces. A line inscribed on the upper portion is translated as "beautiful maidens on horsebacks, playing".

Teacher's Note:
a) Key facts: artist Dana, Jodhpur sub-school, Man Singh's reign, 1810.
b) Link the painting to the question's statement by naming the influences of other schools.
c) Mention the flat green background as a local feature.

ii. Bharat meets Rama at Chitrakut [3 Marks]

Answer:
1. This Ramayana painting by Guman, made between 1740 and 1750, is a classic example of a continuous narrative. Plain huts (parna kutir) of mud, wood and green leaves in the woods on the foothills, surrounded by groves, create a rural setting. The story is read from left to right.
2. The three mothers and the wives of the princes proceed towards the huts, and Rama, Lakshmana and Sita bow to them. Kaushalya rushes to Rama and holds him in her arms, and Rama then greets Sumitra and Kaikeyi. He talks with the two sages, and when told of Dashratha's death he collapses in grief. Sumanta stands devotedly behind the sages, and the mothers and the wives of Lakshmana, Bharat and Shatrughana talk to Sita.
3. The narrative ends with the group leaving the frame on the right. Each character is labelled, a verse describing the scene is inscribed on the upper portion, and the painting is in the National Museum, New Delhi.

Teacher's Note:
a) Key facts: artist Guman, 1740-1750, continuous narrative read from left to right.
b) Describe the main episodes in order, from the mothers' arrival to the group leaving on the right.
c) Mention the labels and the inscribed verse as special features.

9. Carefully observe the metal-based sculpture given below.

[Figure: Photograph of a dark metal sculpture of Ganesha shown from the front, made of shaped metal sheets with raised wire-like linear details, curls and loops on the surface. He wears a crown with a curved band above it, has several arms holding objects, and holds a stringed instrument across his body. Small patches of red and other colours appear on parts of the sculpture, and it rests on one foot on a base.]

i. Write the title, name of the sculptor, and medium used. [2 Marks]

Answer:
1. The title is Ganesha, and the sculptor is P. V. Janakiram.
2. The medium is beaten copper sheets (oxidised copper), using the repousse technique that is popular among traditional craftsmen of South India.

Teacher's Note:
a) All three items are needed: title, sculptor and medium.
b) The scheme spells the name as P.V. Jankiram and P. V. Janakiram; both refer to the same artist.

ii. Explain the techniques used in the sculpture [2 Marks]

Answer:
1. This oxidised copper sculpture was made by P. V. Janakiram in 1970 and is in the collection of NGMA, Delhi. Copper sheets are beaten into concave and convex planes, and linear details of copper wire are welded (soldered) on them. Enamelling is also used.
2. The linear elements work as facial features and decorative motifs, such as Ganesha's six hands, gada, conch and veena, and suggest a religious icon that invites contemplation. The frontal image, influenced by the ancient temple sculpture of South India, gives it an indigenous character.

Teacher's Note:
a) Key technique words: beaten copper sheets, repousse, concave and convex planes, welded wire details.
b) Mention the influence of South Indian temple sculpture.

iii. How do you think this modern style artwork brought about a revolution in Indian sculpture? [2 Marks]

Answer:
1. The sculpture blends the traditional and the modern. Ganesha plays the vina, and the details and technical blending of materials show the artist's careful craftsmanship. He experimented with the "openendedness" of indigenous workmanship and showed his understanding of traditional imagery.
2. The sculpture is conceived as linear silhouettes instead of stressing three-dimensionality, despite its volume. Rhythm and growth come through lyrical stylisation, and it combines folk and traditional craftsmanship with a feeling of harmony, peace and spiritualism.

Teacher's Note:
a) The main idea is the blend of traditional craft with a modern approach.
b) Use the key phrase linear silhouettes instead of three-dimensionality.