Pattachitra
Encyclopedia
Pattachitra is a traditional painting of Orissa
, India
.These Paintings are based on Hindu Mythology
and specially inspired by Jagannath
and Vaishnava cult. All colours used in the Paintings are natural and paintings are made fully old traditional way by Chitrakaras that is Oriya Painter. Pattachitra style of painting is one of the oldest and most popular art forms of Orissa. The name Pattachitra has evolved from the Sanskrit words patta, meaning canvas, and chitra, meaning picture. Pattachitra is thus a painting done on canvas, and is manifested by rich colourful application, creative motifs and designs, and portrayal of simple themes, mostly mythological in depiction. The traditions of pattachitra paintings are more than thousand years old.
, Konarak
and Bhubaneshwar region, dating back to the 5th century BC. The best work is found in and around Puri, especially in the village of Raghurajpur
.
This old tradition of Oriya painting still survives in the places like Puri, Raghurajpur, Paralakhemundi
, Chikiti and Sonepur
.In the past professionerise, there was no distinct separation between the master painters and master sculptors; so the possibility of a simultaneous origin of painting and sculptural art in Orissa can not be ruled out. Even today in Orissa, these two crafts are combined inone and these artists and known as Chitrakaras, their title remains mostly Mohapatra or Maharana. Strangely enough, painting appeared in Orissa rather later, several centuries after the construction of the great temples of Bhubaneswar, Puri and Konark.here exists a good number of paintings from 18th century onwards in many temples and Mathas especially in the southern districts of Orissa. Lord Jagannath in the present from is being taken as the origin of the Patta style. The colour schemes of the deities of Puri are quite similar to those of the Patta style. The oldest record of Patta Paintings does not probably go beyond the establishment of the present shrine of Shri Jagannath
at Puri. It may be due to the fact that paintings do not survive like sculptures. The paints inside the shrines of Lord Jagannath
at Puri make the date probable. The oldest classical marble paintings of Sitabanji at Keonjhar do not conform to the present style of Patta painting wholly. The wooden statues of the three deities are also covered with cloth and then overlaid with glue mixed with chalk, and then given paint only with four limited colours of red, yellow, white and black. The deities who are held in high esteem by the Oriyas and who inspire religion, life and activity of the people also carry with them a tradition of art and painting which is as old as the deities themselves. If the Savara origin of Jagannath
is accepted, the date of the Patta paintings can be dated back to an earlier period. These paintings were originally substitutes for worship on days when the temple doors were shut for the 'ritual bath' of the deity.
and the Vaishnava cult. Since beginning of Pattachitra culture, Lord Jagannath
who was an incarnation of Lord Krishna
has been the major source of inspiration. The subject matter of Patta Chitra is mostly mythological, religious stories and folk lore. Themes are chiefly on Lord Jagannath
and Radha
-Krishna
, different "Vesas" of Shri Jagannath
, Balabhadra and Subhadra
, temple activities, the ten incarnations of Vishnu
basing on the 'Gita Govinda
' of Jayadev, Kama Kujara Navagunjara
, Ramayana
, Mahabharata
. The individual paintings of gods and goddesses are also being painted.
The Pattachitra style are mix of both folk and classical elements but leanings more towards folk forms. The dress style has Mughal
influences. All of the poses have been confined to a few well-defined postures. These are not free from monotonous repetitions, though at times this is necessary to accentuate the narrative character of the style. The lines are bold and clean and angular and sharp. Generally there are no landscapes, perspectives and distant views. All the incidents are seen in close juxtaposition. The background on which the figures are represented, is delineated with decorations of flowers and foliages and is mostly painted in red colour. All the paintings are given decorative borders. The whole painting is conceived in the form of a design on a given canvas.
The themes may be classified into following categories
a)Bhagabat paintings
b)Ramayana paintings
Patta paintings are done on small strips of cotton
cloth. The canvas
is prepared by coating the clothe with a mixture of chalk and gum made from tamarind
seeds. Then it is rubbed by taking the help of two different stones and then the cloth is dried.The mixture of gum and chalk
gives the cloth's surface a leathery finish on which the artists paint with vegetable, earth and stone colours. The painters do not use pencil or charcoal
for the preliminary drawings. They are so expert in the line that they simply draw directly with the brush either in light red or yellow. Then the colours are filled in. The final lines are drawn and the patta is given a lacquer coating to protect it from weather, thus making the painting glossy. This process of glazing
or varnishing is quite interesting. The painting is held over a fire-place so that the back of the painting is exposed to heat. On the surface of the painting fine lacquer is applied.
the paintings of Radha and Krishna were painted in vibrant shades of orange, red and yellow. There are typical scenes and figures like Krishna, Gopis, elephants, trees and other creatures are seen in these paintings. Krishna is always painted in blue and Gopis in light pink, purple or brown colours.
The painters use vegetable and mineral colours without going for factory made poster colours. They prepare their own colours. White colour is made from the conch
-shells by powdering, boiling
and filtering in a very hazardous process. It requires a lot of patience. But this process gives brilliance and premanence to the hue
. 'Hingula', a mineral colour, is used for red. 'Haritala', king of stone ingredients for yellow, 'Ramaraja' a sort of indigo for blue are being used. Pure lamp
-black
or black prepared from the burning of coconut
shells are used. There was no blue either cobalt or ultramarine in the earlier colour schemes. The colours used in the Patta paintings are primarily bright colours, limited to red, yellow, indigo, black and white. The brushes that are used by these 'Chitrakaras' are also indigenous and are made of hair of domestic animals. A bunch of hair tied to the end of a bamboo
stick make the brush. It is really a matter of wonder as to how these painters bring out lines of such precision and finish with the help of these crude brushes.
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.These Paintings are based on Hindu Mythology
Hindu mythology
Hindu religious literature is the large body of traditional narratives related to Hinduism, notably as contained in Sanskrit literature, such as the Sanskrit epics and the Puranas. As such, it is a subset of Nepali and Indian culture...
and specially inspired by Jagannath
Jagannath
Jagannath is a transcendental non-anthropotheistic Hindu god worshiped primarily by the people of Indian state of Orissa, and, to a great extent, West Bengal...
and Vaishnava cult. All colours used in the Paintings are natural and paintings are made fully old traditional way by Chitrakaras that is Oriya Painter. Pattachitra style of painting is one of the oldest and most popular art forms of Orissa. The name Pattachitra has evolved from the Sanskrit words patta, meaning canvas, and chitra, meaning picture. Pattachitra is thus a painting done on canvas, and is manifested by rich colourful application, creative motifs and designs, and portrayal of simple themes, mostly mythological in depiction. The traditions of pattachitra paintings are more than thousand years old.
Origin and History
The painting the 'pattachitra' resemble the old murals of Orissa especially religious centres of PuriPuri
Puri is district headquarter, a city situated about south of state capital Bhubaneswar, on the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal in the Indian state of Orissa. It is also known as Jagannath Puri after the Jagannath Temple . It is a holy city of the Hindus as a part of the Char Dham pilgrimages...
, Konarak
Konarak
Konarak may refer to:*Konarak, Iran, a city in the Sistan va Baluchestan Province of Iran*Konarak County, an administrative subdivision of Iran*Konarak, an alternative spelling for the Indian city of Konark...
and Bhubaneshwar region, dating back to the 5th century BC. The best work is found in and around Puri, especially in the village of Raghurajpur
Raghurajpur
Raghurajpur is a heritage crafts village in Puri district, Orissa, known for its master Pattachitra painters, an art form which dates back to 5 BC. in the region and Gotipua dance troupes, the precursor to the Indian classical dance form of Odissi; it also known as the birthplace of one of finest...
.
This old tradition of Oriya painting still survives in the places like Puri, Raghurajpur, Paralakhemundi
Paralakhemundi
Parlakhemundi is a small town and a municipality in Gajapati district in the Indian state of Orissa. The major languages spoken in this region are Oriya and Telugu.- Demographics :...
, Chikiti and Sonepur
Sonepur
Sonepur, also known as Subarnapur, is a town and district headquarters of Subarnapur district of Orissa. Sonepur was formerly the capital of a princely state of British India. The district spreads over an area of 2284.89 km2. It is also known as Second Varanasi of India for its cluster of...
.In the past professionerise, there was no distinct separation between the master painters and master sculptors; so the possibility of a simultaneous origin of painting and sculptural art in Orissa can not be ruled out. Even today in Orissa, these two crafts are combined inone and these artists and known as Chitrakaras, their title remains mostly Mohapatra or Maharana. Strangely enough, painting appeared in Orissa rather later, several centuries after the construction of the great temples of Bhubaneswar, Puri and Konark.here exists a good number of paintings from 18th century onwards in many temples and Mathas especially in the southern districts of Orissa. Lord Jagannath in the present from is being taken as the origin of the Patta style. The colour schemes of the deities of Puri are quite similar to those of the Patta style. The oldest record of Patta Paintings does not probably go beyond the establishment of the present shrine of Shri Jagannath
Jagannath
Jagannath is a transcendental non-anthropotheistic Hindu god worshiped primarily by the people of Indian state of Orissa, and, to a great extent, West Bengal...
at Puri. It may be due to the fact that paintings do not survive like sculptures. The paints inside the shrines of Lord Jagannath
Jagannath
Jagannath is a transcendental non-anthropotheistic Hindu god worshiped primarily by the people of Indian state of Orissa, and, to a great extent, West Bengal...
at Puri make the date probable. The oldest classical marble paintings of Sitabanji at Keonjhar do not conform to the present style of Patta painting wholly. The wooden statues of the three deities are also covered with cloth and then overlaid with glue mixed with chalk, and then given paint only with four limited colours of red, yellow, white and black. The deities who are held in high esteem by the Oriyas and who inspire religion, life and activity of the people also carry with them a tradition of art and painting which is as old as the deities themselves. If the Savara origin of Jagannath
Jagannath
Jagannath is a transcendental non-anthropotheistic Hindu god worshiped primarily by the people of Indian state of Orissa, and, to a great extent, West Bengal...
is accepted, the date of the Patta paintings can be dated back to an earlier period. These paintings were originally substitutes for worship on days when the temple doors were shut for the 'ritual bath' of the deity.
Theme and Style
The theme of Oriya painting centres round the JagannathJagannath
Jagannath is a transcendental non-anthropotheistic Hindu god worshiped primarily by the people of Indian state of Orissa, and, to a great extent, West Bengal...
and the Vaishnava cult. Since beginning of Pattachitra culture, Lord Jagannath
Jagannath
Jagannath is a transcendental non-anthropotheistic Hindu god worshiped primarily by the people of Indian state of Orissa, and, to a great extent, West Bengal...
who was an incarnation of Lord Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
has been the major source of inspiration. The subject matter of Patta Chitra is mostly mythological, religious stories and folk lore. Themes are chiefly on Lord Jagannath
Jagannath
Jagannath is a transcendental non-anthropotheistic Hindu god worshiped primarily by the people of Indian state of Orissa, and, to a great extent, West Bengal...
and Radha
Radha
Radha , also called Radhika, Radharani and Radhikarani, is the childhood friend and lover of Krishna in the Bhagavata Purana, and the Gita Govinda of the Vaisnava traditions of Hinduism...
-Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
, different "Vesas" of Shri Jagannath
Jagannath
Jagannath is a transcendental non-anthropotheistic Hindu god worshiped primarily by the people of Indian state of Orissa, and, to a great extent, West Bengal...
, Balabhadra and Subhadra
Subhadra
Image:Jagannath, Baladev and Subadra in Radhadesh.jpg|thumb|right|250px|alt=|Subhadra, flanked by her brothers Balarama and Jagannatha . Deities of the Radhadesh temple in Belgium...
, temple activities, the ten incarnations of Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
basing on the 'Gita Govinda
Gita Govinda
The Gita Govinda is a work composed by the 12th-century poet, Jayadeva, who was born in Kenduli Sasan near Puri in Orissa. It describes the relationship between Krishna and the gopis of Vrindavana, and in particular one gopi named Radha...
' of Jayadev, Kama Kujara Navagunjara
Navagunjara
In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Navagunjara is a creature composed of nine different animals. The animal is a common motif in the Pata-Chitra style of painting, of the Indian state of Orissa. The beast is considered a form of the Hindu god Vishnu, or of Krishna, who is considered an Avatar of Vishnu...
, Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
, Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
. The individual paintings of gods and goddesses are also being painted.
The Pattachitra style are mix of both folk and classical elements but leanings more towards folk forms. The dress style has Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
influences. All of the poses have been confined to a few well-defined postures. These are not free from monotonous repetitions, though at times this is necessary to accentuate the narrative character of the style. The lines are bold and clean and angular and sharp. Generally there are no landscapes, perspectives and distant views. All the incidents are seen in close juxtaposition. The background on which the figures are represented, is delineated with decorations of flowers and foliages and is mostly painted in red colour. All the paintings are given decorative borders. The whole painting is conceived in the form of a design on a given canvas.
The themes may be classified into following categories
- Jagannath paintings
- Vaishnav Paintings
a)Bhagabat paintings
b)Ramayana paintings
- Saiva paintings
- Shakta paintings
- Paintings as legends
- Ragachitras
- Bandhachitra
- Yamapati and yatripatas – (sketches of puri temple) Ganjapa playing card paintings and other socials themes on paintings.
Technique
Traditionally the painters are known as chitrakars. A patta painter's home with all the members of family is his studio. Woman members prepare the glue, the canvas and apply colours what we call the fill-in, and give the final lacquer coating. The master hand, mostly the male member, draws the initial line and gives the final finishing.Patta paintings are done on small strips of cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
cloth. The canvas
Canvas
Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other items for which sturdiness is required. It is also popularly used by artists as a painting surface, typically stretched across a wooden frame...
is prepared by coating the clothe with a mixture of chalk and gum made from tamarind
Tamarind
Tamarind is a tree in the family Fabaceae. The genus Tamarindus is monotypic .-Origin:...
seeds. Then it is rubbed by taking the help of two different stones and then the cloth is dried.The mixture of gum and chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
gives the cloth's surface a leathery finish on which the artists paint with vegetable, earth and stone colours. The painters do not use pencil or charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
for the preliminary drawings. They are so expert in the line that they simply draw directly with the brush either in light red or yellow. Then the colours are filled in. The final lines are drawn and the patta is given a lacquer coating to protect it from weather, thus making the painting glossy. This process of glazing
Glazing
Glazing, which derives from the Middle English for 'glass', is a part of a wall or window, made of glass. Glazing also describes the work done by a professional "glazier"...
or varnishing is quite interesting. The painting is held over a fire-place so that the back of the painting is exposed to heat. On the surface of the painting fine lacquer is applied.
Colour
In the 16th century, with the emergence of Bhakti movementBhakti movement
The Bhakti movement is a Hindu religious movement in which the main spiritual practice is loving devotion among the Shaivite and Vaishnava saints. The Bhakti movement originated in ancient Tamil Nadu and began to spread to the north during the late medieval ages when north India was under Islamic...
the paintings of Radha and Krishna were painted in vibrant shades of orange, red and yellow. There are typical scenes and figures like Krishna, Gopis, elephants, trees and other creatures are seen in these paintings. Krishna is always painted in blue and Gopis in light pink, purple or brown colours.
The painters use vegetable and mineral colours without going for factory made poster colours. They prepare their own colours. White colour is made from the conch
Conch
A conch is a common name which is applied to a number of different species of medium-sized to large sea snails or their shells, generally those which are large and have a high spire and a siphonal canal....
-shells by powdering, boiling
Boiling
Boiling is the rapid vaporization of a liquid, which occurs when a liquid is heated to its boiling point, the temperature at which the vapor pressure of the liquid is equal to the pressure exerted on the liquid by the surrounding environmental pressure. While below the boiling point a liquid...
and filtering in a very hazardous process. It requires a lot of patience. But this process gives brilliance and premanence to the hue
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...
. 'Hingula', a mineral colour, is used for red. 'Haritala', king of stone ingredients for yellow, 'Ramaraja' a sort of indigo for blue are being used. Pure lamp
Lamp
Lamp is a light source, while LAMP is an acronym.-Lamps:Lamp may refer to one of the following:*Oil lamp, the original use of the term*Kerosene lamp, a lamp burning liquid petroleum...
-black
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
or black prepared from the burning of coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
shells are used. There was no blue either cobalt or ultramarine in the earlier colour schemes. The colours used in the Patta paintings are primarily bright colours, limited to red, yellow, indigo, black and white. The brushes that are used by these 'Chitrakaras' are also indigenous and are made of hair of domestic animals. A bunch of hair tied to the end of a bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
stick make the brush. It is really a matter of wonder as to how these painters bring out lines of such precision and finish with the help of these crude brushes.