Paula Sengupta gives an overview of the evolution of
printmaking practices in India. It is important to make a distinction
between printing which came to India in 1556 and
printmaking as a form of art which goes back about 80 years in India. The demand for book illustrations generated by a renewed interest in vernacular literature was crucial in the development of the indigenous printing industry. The 18th century mainly saw European printmakers whose portrayal of India’s landscapes for instance, reflected their isolation from Indian society and culture. In the early 19th century, in the bazaars of Calcutta emerged several indigenous presses and it was here that illustrated books were printed on a large scale. As observed by Paula Sengupta “The hitherto anonymous Indian printmaker gradually began to evolve as an ''artist''.” A “new breed of ''gentlemen'' artists with Western sensibilities” emerged in the mid 19th century when art schools were established in the country. The bazaar printmaking schools made plates for book illustrations. Soon broadsides were produced. Artisans employed in the English press overtime developed an aesthetic style which was unique. Covering religion, social and political themes these works of art were popular among the semi educated sections of society. The Bat-tala school emerged in North Calcutta. In the bazaars of Amritsar and Lahore flourished the Punjab lithographs. The interaction between the British lithographers and the artisans of Punjab had an influence.Indigenous polychrome printing in north India can be traced back to the Tughra lithographs. Another indigenous school of
lithography sprang up in Bombay wherin the influence of Tanjore paintings and European art was substantial. In the last quarter of the 19th century, the ‘new wave’ of Western style art as Paula Sengupta comments, came to be represented by Raja Ravi Varma and Bamapada Banerjee. Mass circulation of oil paintings of gods and goddesses was made possible by chromolithography and oleography.