The art of oil painting which was innovated in ancient Greece was brought to India by the European colonists. Indian painters adopted this technique and Raja Ravi Verma was considered to be the pioneer who made this new medium popular in India through his realistic portraits and paintings.

Indian oil paintings are the symphony of Indian artists` thought, imagination and consciousness, in lines and in oil colors. The magic of oil paintings is indeed remarkable. Humble pigments mix with linseed oil creates poetry on canvas but the process of oil painting is not that magical. It involves sweat, toil and incredible perseverance of the painter.

India has seen a lot of oil painters starting from Raja Ravi Verma on nineteenth century to M.F.Hussain as most contemporary artist.

Ravi Verma who learned this newly introduced technique of that time with a difficult struggle was able to adopt this style in such a manner that the spectators of his paintings became spellbound by the realistic effect of this medium. The oil painting almost recreates life itself by its own beauty and delicacy.