The tradition of Indian paintings goes back to the dawn of civilization. The art of miniature painting as book illustration for non-religious purposes, was first introduced in India by the Mughal emperors. Miniatures are the small, colorful pictures painted in glowing mineral and vegetable colors on hand-made paper. The most important function of miniature is illustration. It gives a visual image to the literary plot, making it more enjoyable, and easier to understand. Miniature developed into a marriage of artistic and poetic languages and obtained a deep and sincere accordance with poetry.

The world of miniature paintings is perhaps the most fascinating in Rajasthan with exclusive and distinctive styles. In Rajasthan, several distinct schools of painting evolved. The four major schools are: Mewar, Marwar, Bundi-Kota, and Amber-Jaipur. The most important Marwar centers were Bikaner and Jodhpur whose rulers employed Mughal-trained artists. Miniatures of Rajsthan are the most famous among paintings developed under the patronage of the court. In every part of Rajasthan, groups of highly talented and created artists produced these remarkable paintings on paper as well as on ivory panels, wooden tablets, leather, marble and cloth exist.

The miniature tradition goes back at least to the 11th century when palm-leaf manuscripts of Jaina religious texts were prepared in different parts of south-west and central Rajasthan. Multi-painting sets of Ramayana, Gita-Govinda, Sur- Sagar, Arsh Ramayana, Rasikapriya etco, were prepared in an unmistakably bold, colorful and well defined styles. These were followed by many large court paintings showing the Maharana in outings and hunting expeditions or attending religious festivities. Portraits, sets of Ragamala paintings, divinities and scenes of folk legends were also produced in large numbers. Nathdwara became an important religious and artistic centre after the installation of the image of Shrinathji in the 17th century, in Rajasthan.

Today, many artists continue to make miniature paintings which are produced on silk, ivory, cotton, and paper. In addition to the several new developments, the tradition of beautiful miniature paintings continues to live on.