What is Pattachitra style of art?
Pattachitra is made of two words – patta and chitra; in Sanskrit, the word patta means cloth and chitra refers to a picture; so, these pictures were created on cloth and the theme was mostly stories of Hindu deities. Predominantly an icon style of painting, these paintings were made mainly in the eastern states of Odisha and West Bengal and also in some parts of Bangladesh. The paintings were created mainly to narrate stories from mythology and folktales. Over time, it became one of the most popular souvenirs in temple towns like Puri.Legend has it that each year, at the time of the Debasnana Purnima at the Puri Jagannath Temple, the deities are given a bath with 108 pots of cold water. This ritual is done to keep the heat away and keep the deities cool. However, due to this cold water, the deities fall ill for 15 days and this time is known as Anasara – since the deities are ‘resting’, the chitrakars or artists decided to prepare the paintings of the three main deities – Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra chitra were used for display and for the public to pay obeisance in their absence.
Are there any schools in Pattachitra?
Given that Pattachitra art originated in the east of India, and mainly in two states, there are two schools or subsets of the form – the Odisha school and the Bengali school.The Odia pattachitra or the Odisha style was inspired by the Jagannath and Vaishnava sects and the paintings were extremely traditional. The paintings were done on canvas and the colours were obtained from natural ingredients with the motifs being traditional and rooted in Hindu mythology. The paintings can be divided into three variants – the Pattachitra, which were paintings made on cloth, Bhittichitra, paintings made on walls and Talapatrachitra, which were paintings made on palm leaves. These styles are believed to have existed at roughly the same time and some of the best examples can be seen in villages like Puri, Raghurajpur and Sonepur. The themes were mainly the Jagannath and the Vaishnava sects. Lord Krishna paintings are most common and he is depicted in the form of Jagannath, but you will see Mughal influences in the style of clothes. The lines are normally clear and very bold and while there is repetition, there is still a sense of distinction. Krishna would always be in blue and Gopis would be depicted in light pink or purple. The master hand, who is normally a male member will be the one to draw all the outlines, the actual prep work is done by the women of the house. All colours used to make these paintings are sourced from natural ingredients, including charcoal, turmeric, flowers and mineral stones. The tala pattachitra, or paintings made on palm leaves are also believed to have originated from Odisha. The leaves would be allowed to dry and become hard, post which they would be stitched together to prepare a canvas, which had a fan like structure.
The Bengali Pattachitra style was prominent in West Bengal and some parts of Bangladesh and is considered the mythological heritage of the Indian state. There are different styles within this style and the most popular ones include Durga Pat, Medinipur Patachitra and Kalighat Patachitra and these would depict images from mythology, folktales and social stories as well. Unlike the chitrakars of Odisha, in Bengal, the artists are known as Patua and that also gives birth to the term Patua Sangeet, wherein paintings were used to progress stories that were told via song. The motives behind this style were different to the Odia version, because here the form of paintings was more to be props for narratives that were aiming to change the social structures. However, you would see goddess, god paintings too, because religion was always a part of the daily lives of the local people. Once again, only natural colours would be used to create the masterpieces and entire families would often be involved in the creation of a single piece or art.
Both these styles have been given GI or Geographical Indication tags – so the Patachitra of Odisha has been registered as Orissa Pattachitra and the Patachitra of West Bengal has been registered as Bengal Patachitra.
What are the techniques that are characteristic of Patachitra painting?
In order to create a Pattachitra painting, there are some strict traditions and rules that need to be followed – the Pattachitra artists who are known as chitrakars will have their studio within their homes, which means that everyone at home would be involved in the creation process. The women would prepare the canvas and glue and then the master, who would mainly be a male, would freehand the outlines directly with a brush. Once all the details would be filled in by the master, the women would do the filling in of all the other colours and then the master would give all the finishing touches. A floral border is a must around the paintings and the defining attribute is the elongated eyes on the holy figures. Finally, the women would give it a coat of lacquer, lending a shiny finish and finally the paintings would be kept near heat to seal in the colours and lacquer.
Even all the paints for the traditional pattachitra painting would be created at home by the artists using materials that would be available naturally and easily – white would come from conch shells, red from Hingula mineral, yellow from Haritala stone, burnt coconut shells would give black and yellow from turmeric. The brushes would be made with a bamboo stick, which would have hair taken from domestic animals.
Here are some of the most commonly and frequently asked questions about Pattachitra art:
In which state did this art form originate?
The art form has its roots in Odisha, West Bengal and some parts of Bangladesh.
Is there any particular village or area where the artists belong to?
Almost all of the patachitra folk art practitioners come from a small village in Puri district known as Raghurajpur. Some of the other areas where artists have worked and flourished include Sonepur, Purulia, Haldia and Howrah.
What kind of cloth or material forms the base?
A gauze-like fine cotton cloth is what forms the canvas; however, this cloth is first coated with a white stone powder and gum that is made using tamarind seeds.
Is Pattachitra only done on canvas?
Initially the paintings were done only on cotton cloth canvases and palm leaves, but over time, they started appearing on sarees especially those made with Tussar silk and even toys.
What are the most popular themes?
Some of the most popular themes include Badhia, which is a depiction of a Jagannath temple, Krishna leela paintings which show him has a child, Radha Krishna paintings and Dasabatara Patti, which are the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu.
Is Krishna the only deity portrayed in the paintings?
While In Odisha, Krishna is the beloved, in the Bangla style, you will see Durga and Saraswati being depicted in the paintings too. The Panchamukhi, the five headed Lord Ganesha paintings were also popular.
Who are the most popular artists?
Raghunath Mohapatra, Pranab Narayan Das, Debasis Sahu, Bijoy Parida and Swarna Chitrakar are some of the most famous Pattachitra artists.
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