The development of Tanjore painting was stimulated by the Mysore Wars and the presence of a large number of British soldiers in the region. These soldiers spent only a few years serving in India and were eager to collect pictures of costumes and customs which they could take back as souvenirs. Paintings were widely commissioned by the British as well as the French, some of whom were resident in Tanjore. Artists in Tanjore came from the Moochy caste. In the early sets they produced for the British in the late eighteenth century, the style and technique is predominantly Indian. This is characterised by fluttering draperies, swaggering figures, bright greens, yellows, pinks and mauves and brightly coloured backgrounds with strips of cloud.
By the turn of the century the artists were creating a more realistic background for the figures as European stylistic influences began to filter into India. Typically, a man and a woman would be shown against a landscape background of trees, bushes and thatched huts. A few years later coloured backgrounds disappear and the figures are portrayed in a highly realistic manner against an empty background