The correct option is 2 and 3 only.
Explanation
Raja Ravi Varma is renowned for establishing the "Academic Style" of painting in India, which fused Indian mythological themes with Western techniques such as oil painting, perspective, and realism. However, by the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the rise of the Bengal School of Art and the Swadeshi movement led to a strong ideological reaction against this style.
Statement-wise Analysis:
- Statement 1 is Incorrect. The academic style was not looked down upon because it was considered the "only authentic medium." On the contrary, it was criticized precisely because nationalists and revivalist artists believed it was inauthentic to the Indian spirit. They argued that Western realism failed to capture the symbolic and spiritual essence of Indian myths.
- Statement 2 is Correct. The primary criticism leveled against Raja Ravi Varma by figures like Abanindranath Tagore and E.B. Havell was the application of Western techniques (naturalism, three-dimensional perspective) to Indian subjects. Critics felt that depicting deities with human-like anatomical realism reduced the divine to the mundane and lacked the transcendental quality of traditional Indian art (such as Ajanta or miniatures).
- Statement 3 is Correct. The rejection of the academic style was closely tied to the rise of Indian nationalism. The Swadeshi movement sought to reject colonial influence in all spheres, including culture. This led to a revivalist movement (the Bengal School) that looked back to indigenous art forms like Mughal miniatures and Ajanta murals, rejecting the "foreign" academic style as imitative and colonial.
Key Takeaway:
The criticism of Raja Ravi Varma's work at the turn of the century was driven by cultural nationalism, which rejected Western academic realism in favor of reviving traditional Indian aesthetics to establish a distinct national identity in art.