Time has unfolded one after another the chapters of history. Indian sculpture too has passed a long way through evolution and it has stepped on the borderline of modernity. The traditionally enriched Fine Arts of ancient India have come down into the wider expanse of contemporary space as it have found vistas of new experience to rejuvenate itself. Art critics all over the world are now all praise about Indian Art, trying to gauge every pulse of Indian art world. Either in painting or sculpture, or in avantgardism like the installation art, India is always on the map of international fame.

But the success and recognition has become a reality only at the cost of lifelong contribution of a number of ingenious artists like Abanindranath Tagore, Nanadalal Bose, Jamini Roy, Binod Behari Mukhopadhyay and many others who brought in the touch of modernity.

But the same applause and patronage were never showered in the arena of sculpture, excluding religious and traditional sculptures. The sculptors did not have the courage to depart from the connection to explore newer avenues perhaps they lacked in vigour and talent to do so. The Indian sculpture got an inspiration of modernity when the British came to rule in India.


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 Santiniketanschool, led by Rabindranath Tagore's harking back to idyllic rural folk and rural life. Despite its country-wide influence in the early years, the importance of the School declined by the 'forties' and now it is as good as dead.

Post-independence

The Progressive Artists' Group, established shortly after India became independent in 1947, was intended to establish new ways of expressing India in the post-colonial era. Its founder was Francis Newton Souza and S. H. Raza, M. F. Husain and Manishi Dey were early members. It was profoundly influential in changing the idiom of Indian art. Almost all of the major artists of India in the 1950s were associated with the group. Prominent among them were Akbar Padamsee, Sadanand Bakre, Ram Kumar, Tyeb Mehta, K. H. Ara, H. A. Gade and Bal Chabda. In 1950, V. S. Gaitonde, Krishen Khanna and Mohan Samant joined the Group. The group disbanded in 1956.