A Jungle Landscape | Odisha Pattachitra Painting | A5 Frame

This  framed A5 size Odisha Pattachitra on tussar silk cloth depicts tigers in different postures and in different moods. In this painting tigers are portrayed as  consists symbol of fierceness, power and elegance. 

A formal and symbolic representation of the animal is visible throughout India’s long history. Tigers occupy an important place in Indian culture. Wild tiger has been represented in various art forms from 10,000-year-old cave paintings in Madhya Pradesh to Mohenjodaro seals, Mughal miniature paintings to contemporary art.  Since ages, it has been a symbol of magnificence, power, beauty and fierceness and has been associated with bravery and valor. By assuming a divine form, the tiger becomes the Goddess for the tribal community of Odisha, The painting highlights the fear these predators generate. 

Features:

Art History -Pattachitra style of painting is one of the oldest and most popular folk art forms of Odisha.Pattachitra- literally meaning ‘Picture on cloth canvas’ is a traditional treasure that has mesmerized the common man. The origin of the paintings is traced to be 8th century A.D., from the fragmented evidence of cave paintings in Khandagari, Udaigiri and Sitabhinji. Having a reference in the earliest known treatise on painting called ‘Chitralakshana’, this art form finds its strong roots in the traditions of Lord Jagannath, the presiding deity of Odisha.

The creation of the Pattachitra paintings is a disciplined art form. The Pattachitra artists use naturally available raw materials to bring about indigenous paints. The chitrakars maintain rigidity in their use of colours and patterns, restricting the colours to a single tone.

In silk painting, the painter controls the movement of pigment within boundaries such as a resist on the silk. Brushes become much less important because the dye will move on the silk after it is placed there. Because the dyes flow so freely on silk, the job of the silk painter is to control the movement of the pigment on the silk rather than its placement. The final step is giving a protective coating. The cloth is given a lacquer coating to protect from the effects of nature and give a glazed varnished look.

Painting by Pramod Kumar Maharana, a veteran Pattachitra artist of Odisha State.