The tradition of small, detailed paintings on paper, cloth or palm-leaf that flourished from the medieval period, grouped into the eastern, western, Mughal, Rajput (Rajasthani and Pahari) and Deccan schools.
- Early miniatures: the eastern Pala school (Buddhist palm-leaf manuscripts) and the western Apabhramsha or Jain school (Gujarat, Kalpasutra manuscripts) before Mughal influence.
- Mughal school: began under Akbar (with Persian masters Mir Sayyid Ali and Abd-us-Samad); peaked under Jahangir, who favoured portraits, natural studies and album art; used fine detail and perspective.
- Rajasthani (Rajput) schools: Mewar, Bundi, Kishangarh (the Bani Thani face), Marwar and Bikaner; themes of Krishna, ragamala and court life in bright colours.
- Pahari schools: Basohli (bold, intense colour) and the later Kangra school (lyrical, soft, Krishna and Gita Govinda themes) in the sub-Himalayan hills.
- Deccan school: Bijapur, Ahmadnagar and Golconda, blending Persian, Mughal and local styles with rich colour.
- The Company school later (18th to 19th century) mixed Indian subjects with European watercolour technique for British patrons.
School-to-feature matching (Kishangarh-Bani Thani, Kangra-Krishna lyricism, Basohli-bold colour, Mughal-portraits under Jahangir) and the Mughal patron sequence (Akbar to Jahangir to Shah Jahan) are standard culture questions.
Rajasthani and Pahari are both "Rajput" but differ by region (plains of Rajasthan versus the Himalayan foothills); Kangra (refined, soft) is later and gentler than Basohli (bold, intense), both within the Pahari group.
Miniatures: Pala and Jain (early), Mughal (Akbar to Jahangir), Rajasthani and Pahari (Rajput), Deccan, and Company schools.