Key Points

This was a hybrid style from the 18th century where Indian artists, commissioned by the British, blended traditional techniques with European realism and close observation to document Indian life.

A self-taught artist who mastered the European academic style of oil painting. He used it to depict scenes from Indian epics like the Ramayana, but his style was later criticized as too Western.

An art movement and style of painting that emerged in Calcutta in the early 20th century. It was closely associated with the Swadeshi (nationalist) movement and aimed to create a distinctly Indian art.

Artist Abanindranath Tagore spearheaded the Bengal School, with strong support from E. B. Havell, the British principal of the Calcutta School of Art. They worked together to Indianise art education.

Artists of this school rejected Western academic styles and drew inspiration from indigenous art forms like Mughal and Pahari miniatures and Ajanta murals.

A painting technique invented by Abanindranath Tagore. It involved applying layers of watercolour and repeatedly washing the paper to create a soft, misty, and atmospheric effect.

Kala Bhavana, founded by Rabindranath Tagore at Shantiniketan, was India's first national art school. It became a major center for the Bengal School under the leadership of Nandalal Bose.

A key artist of the Bengal School, Nandalal Bose created the famous 'Haripura Posters' in 1937 for a Congress session at Gandhi's request. These posters depicted ordinary rural people in a simple folk style.

Jamini Roy was a modern artist who rejected his Western academic training to adopt the simple, flat, and bold style of Bengali folk paintings (pats), focusing on themes from rural life.

Key artists included Kshitindranath Majumdar, known for delicate wash paintings on religious themes, and Abdul Rehman Chughtai, who blended the wash technique with Mughal and Persian calligraphic lines.

Promoted by Japanese scholar Kakuzo Okakura, this idea aimed to unite Eastern nations against Western imperialism. It influenced the Bengal School by introducing Japanese wash painting techniques as an alternative to Western oil painting.

Brother of Abanindranath, Gaganendranath Tagore was one of the first Indian painters to experiment with European modern art styles, notably using Cubism to create geometric compositions.

The development of modern Indian art was shaped by the conflict between colonial policies favoring European academic styles and the nationalist artists' efforts to establish an authentic Indian identity in art.

A famous watercolour painting in the wash technique. It depicts a collapsed camel at dusk, symbolically representing the end of life's journey with a misty, evocative quality.

A painting by Raja Ravi Varma in the European academic style using oil paints. It depicts a dramatic scene from the Ramayana, intended to be momentous and emotional.