Step 1: Identifying the Painting Style.
The image depicts a classical Indian scene painted with realistic human expressions, natural body proportions, detailed costumes, and rich artistic composition. This style is closely associated with Raja Ravi Verma, who is regarded as one of the greatest painters in Indian art history. He successfully combined Indian themes with European techniques of oil painting and realism.
Step 2: Understanding Raja Ravi Verma's Contribution.
Raja Ravi Verma (1848--1906) became famous for painting scenes from the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Puranas. His paintings of mythological characters such as Rama, Sita, Krishna, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Damayanti, and Shakuntala became extremely popular throughout India. Through lithographic printing, his artworks reached ordinary households and played an important role in popularizing Indian mythology.
Step 3: Elimination of Other Options.
• Satyendranath Bishi was a noted Bengali scholar and writer rather than a painter.
• Abanindranath Tagore was the founder of the Bengal School of Art, whose paintings generally followed a soft wash technique different from the realistic style shown in the image.
• Rabindranath Tagore was a Nobel Prize-winning poet who also painted, but his artistic style was modern and expressionistic rather than classical realism.
• Raja Ravi Verma perfectly matches the style and subject of the painting.
Therefore, Option (D) is the correct answer.