Indian painting can be broadly divided into four eras. Ancient paintings include the prehistoric rock art of Bhimbetka (30,000+ years, Madhya Pradesh) and the magnificent Buddhist frescoes of Ajanta (2nd century BCE–6th century CE). Medieval court paintings include the Mughal School (founded by Akbar, blending Persian and Indian styles), the Rajasthani School (bold colours, Krishna devotion, sub-schools like Kishangarh and Mewar), the Pahari School (Himalayan foothills — Kangra’s lyrical style and Basholi’s bold style), and the Deccan School (Persian-influenced Bijapur and Golconda courts). Folk painting traditions include Madhubani, Warli, Pattachitra, Kalamkari, and Gond art. The Bengal School (founded by Abanindranath Tagore) represents a 19th–20th century revivalist movement using indigenous traditions as a counter to Western academic painting.

The Ajanta Cave paintings in Maharashtra, dating from approximately the 2nd century BCE to the 6th century CE, represent the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian fresco painting. They depict Buddhist themes — particularly Jataka stories (past lives of the Buddha) and scenes of the life of Gautama Buddha. The paintings were created using two techniques: true fresco (painted on wet plaster) and fresco-secco (painted on dry plaster). They display extraordinary naturalism, emotional range, and compositional sophistication. The caves were patronised during the Satavahana, Vakataka, and Gupta periods, and were rediscovered by British officers in 1819. They are a UNESCO World Heritage Site (inscribed 1983).

Kalamkari (from “kalam” = pen and “kari” = work) is a hand-painted or block-printed textile art from Andhra Pradesh, using natural vegetable dyes on cotton. It has two distinct styles because it developed in two different centres with different traditions. The Srikalahasti style (near Tirupati) is purely hand-drawn using a pen (kalam) by temple artists — it depicts Hindu mythology with continuous narrative scenes. The Machilipatnam style (near Vijayawada) uses wooden blocks for printing and originally created fabrics for the export trade to Persia and Southeast Asia — it has more geometric, repeating patterns. Both styles are GI-tagged products of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Indian painting schools are tested in UPSC Prelims (Art & Culture — GS Paper 1), SSC CGL, Banking General Awareness, and all State PSC exams. Key tested areas include: Ajanta as the finest ancient fresco (UNESCO WHS), the Mughal School’s founding (Akbar, Mir Sayyid Ali, Abdus Samad), “Bani Thani” as the “Mona Lisa of India” (Kishangarh, Nihal Chand), Kangra School’s Gita Govinda inspiration, Bengal School’s Abanindranath Tagore and “Bharat Mata”, Nandalal Bose’s Constitution illustrations, the Basholi vs Kangra distinction within Pahari, the GI-tagged folk painting traditions (Madhubani, Pattachitra, Thanjavur, Kalamkari, Phad), and the Company School of Patna. The Warli-Gond-Madhubani-Pattachitra folk cluster is increasingly tested for both Art & Culture and GI-tag sections simultaneously.