The
Modern Indian art movement in
Indian painting is considered to have begun in
Calcutta in the late nineteenth century.The old traditions of painting had more or less died out in Bengal and new schools of art were started by the British. Initially, protagonists of Indian art such as
Raja Ravi Varma drew on Western traditions and techniques including oil paint and easel painting. A reaction to the Western influence led to a revival in primitivism, called as the
Bengal school of art, which drew from the rich cultural heritage of India. It was succeeded by the
Santiniketan school, led by
Rabindranath Tagore's harking back to idyllic rural folk and rural life.