Painted photograph of a woman in a blue sari

This large portrait shows a woman in a blue sari, "victorian" lace blouse, and gold jewelry. Various applications of paint, from thin to impasto, have been applied to a photograph that forms the base layer, likely as a guide for the painter. For example, her face and hands have been rendered in a photo-realistic style through a thin layer of paint and subtle shading in contrast with thicker and more expressive brushstrokes used to render the sari and carpet. Gold jewelry has been added through paint embellishments. The woman's pose suggests that this work was likely created for the kinds of ethnographic displays that were popularized in the late 19th century, perhaps connected with an international exhibition in Europe.

In the modern period, visual practice in India has combined historical and new techniques in innovative ways. Indian painted photographs exemplify this by combining old and new painting styles with the new technology of photography. Painted photographs from different parts of the world moslty use colour to enhance the realism of a black and white image. In India, paint was used to give a realistic effect but also to embellish and enhance the emotional potential of the image, sometimes covering the entire photographic surface and sometimes mimicing a photographic aesthetic.