ORISSA PATACHITRA ART

Patachitra literally translates to scroll painting. Practised in many regions of India, most notable in Bengal and Orissa, patachitra scroll paintings essentially cater to a religious purpose, depicting Hindu deities and episodes from Hindu epics and sometimes local folklores. Traditionally made of cloth, as textile artworks, only natural handmade pigments are used by the artist or chitrakar. The oldest visual representation of this style is found in the surviving mural paintings in the regions of Orissa like Puri and Raghurajpur. Traditionally, all members of the artist family would be involved in making these detailed and nuanced artworks, men and women alike. A tedious process entails where the painting is done on thin strips of cloth. This cloth is coated with natural glue, buffed and primed, whereby it attains a leather-like surface on which the line drawings and colours are imposed with dexterous skill.