The new buildings that came up in the mid-nineteenth century in Bombay were in the typical Gothic style. The Victoria Terminus (railway station) was built in Bombay between 1878and; the Central Post Office in Calcutta was built in the 1860s.

By the mid-nineteenth century, photographers from Europe travelled to India. They took pictures, set up studios, and established photographic societies to promote the art of photography. Some of them took photographs of imperial officials as authoritative persons. Others travelled around the country searching for ruined buildings and picturesque landscapes. So, they tried to depict India as primitive country.

The popular prints began carrying nationalist messages like Bharat Mata appearing as a goddess carrying the national flag, or nationalist heroes sacrificing their head to the Mata and gods and goddesses slaughtering the British.

In Mysore, Tipu Sultan not only fought the British on the battlefield, but also resisted the cultural traditions associated with them. He continued to encourage local tradition, and had the walls of his palace at Seringapatnam covered with mural paintings done by social artists.

Portrait making became popular in colonial India because the rich and the powerful, both British and Indian, wanted to see themselves on canvas, It also served as an ideal means of displaying the lavish lifestyles, wealth and status that the empire generated.

Raja Ravi Varma mastered the Western art of oil painting and realistic life study, but painted the themes based on Indian mythology. Rabindranath Tagore rejected the art of Ravi Varma.
(i) According to him, Ravi Varma's art was imitative and westernised.
(ii) Rabindranath Tagore declared that such a style was' unsuitable for depicting the nation's ancient myths and legends.
(iii) Rabindranath Tagore felt that a genuine Indian style of painting had to draw inspiration from non-western art traditions, and try to capture the spiritual essence of the East.

Okakura Kakuzo was a Japanese research scholar who did research on Japanese art.
(i) In 1904, Okakura published a book called "The Ideals of the East" in Japan. He wrote "Asia is one" in the opening lines of the book and emphasized on
the need of saving the traditional Japanese art.
(ii) He tried to define modern art and the way in which traditions should be modernized without destroying its essence. He was the principal founder of the first Japanese Art Academy.

The objective of the European rulers behind making a contrast between the British and the Indian lifestyle was to portray the following features:
(i) Indian lifestyle was pre-modern, changeless and motionless typified by faqirs, cows and boats sailing on the river.
(ii) British lifestyle was a modern civilization that exerted a modernizing influence on Indian civilization.
(iii) This was done with the paintings that showed dramatic changes in India from being a traditional culture to a modernized one as a result of the modernizing influence of the British rule.

A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. This form of art was used from upper paleolithic time to modern time.
King like Tipu Sultan continued to encourage local traditions and had the walls of his palace at Seringapatam covered with mural paintings done by the local artists. One of these mural paintings celebrates the victory of Tipu and Haidar Ali in the Battle of Polilur (1780) in which they defeated the British troops.

Raja Ravi Varma's mythological paintings became very popular. Responding to this popularity, Ravi Varma decided to set-up a picture production team and printing press on the outskirts of Bombay. Colour prints of his religious paintings were mass produced. These prints were affordable, so the poor could also buy these cheap prints.

By the mid-19th century, many photographers from Europe came to India and began travelling.
They took different types of pictures such as:
(i) Some took photographs of imperial officials, presenting them as figures of authority and power.
(ii) Others took pictures of ruined buildings and picturesque landscapes.
(iii) Others recorded moments of British military triumph.
(iv) There were also some who recorded the cultural diversity of India in ways that tried to show how India was a primitive country.

The rich and powerful people, both British and Indian, wanted to see themselves on canvas.
Indian tradition of portrait painting was in form of miniature (very small detailed painting) at that time.
A stream of European portrait painters came to India in the 18th century. They made portraits that were life-size images that looked lifelike and real.

Local Indian painters produced a vast number of images of local plants and animals, historical buildings and monuments, festivals and processions, trades and crafts, castes and communities. These pictures were eagerly collected by the East India Company officials as they wanted images through which they could understand and remember India. These are known as Company Paintings.

Raja Ravi Varma is one of the greatest painters in the history of Indian art. He tried to create a style that was both modern and national. He mastered the Western art of oil painting and realistic life study. He chose themes from Indian mythology.
He dramatised scenes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata on canvas. His paintings were very popular among Indian princes and art collectors. His paintings depicted Indian mythological stories and are regarded as truly national.

The scroll painters and potters came to Kalighat and settled there because at that time Calcutta was expanding as a commercial and administrative centre. Calcutta appeared as a place of opportunity where people came to make a new livelihood for them.
Village artists also came and settled here in the hope of new patrons and buyers. They began to paint new themes because values, tastes, social norms and customs were undergoing fast changes after the 1840s. Kalighat painters responded to these changes and produced paintings on social and political themes.