During colonial period, a hybrid painting style arose, combining Rajput, Mughal, and other Indian painting styles with European influences.
Use of water colour and appearance of linear perspective and shading in technique, set them apart.
During early 18th century, oil and easel painting began in India, which saw many European artists, such as Zoffany, Kettle, Hodges, Thomas and William Daniell, Joshua Reynolds, Emily Eden and George Chinnery coming out to India.
Earliest formal art schools in India, Government College of Fine Arts in Madras (1850), Government College of Art & Craft in Calcutta (1854) and Sir J. J. School of Art in Bombay (1857), were established.
Then came the newly introduced Western philosophy of naturalism, whose most prominent proponent was Raja Ravi Verma.
