Pattachitra painting

A tradition connected to place

Odisha's Pattachitra is closely associated with Puri and the worship of Jagannath. Raghurajpur is one of its best-known craft centres. Odisha Tourism describes the village's practice across cloth, tussar cloth and dried palm leaves, alongside other painted objects. [1]

Here, our focus is on painting on cloth. The name brings together the idea of a cloth or prepared support and a picture. A palm-leaf engraving belongs to the wider conversation, but its technique is different.

Making a surface for a story

NID Bengaluru's D'source documentation describes a prepared cloth ground, made using cotton, a tamarind-seed binder and a chalk mixture. Preparing and smoothing the support is part of the work, before the painted image takes shape. D'source process reference

Strong outlines organise the composition. Areas of colour, small decorative elements and borders build its visual density. Materials and practices can vary, so a description of the tradition should never substitute for asking a particular artist about their own work.

1. The ground. Prepare the cloth to receive the painting.
2. The composition. Establish figures, narrative relationships and borders.
3. The painted detail. Develop colour, outlines and ornament.

Learning to look

Start at the edge of a painting. Is the border quiet or elaborate? Does it repeat a leaf, a flower or another form? Then look at the relation between the central subject and the surrounding detail. Notice how outlines separate shapes and how colour holds different areas together.

The Jagannath image shown here is an openly licensed reference photographed in Raghurajpur. It is included to introduce the tradition, not to represent GolGadi stock or an artisan partnership. [3]

What the GI record says

India's GI register records Orissa Pattachitra, application 88, as a registered handicraft from Odisha. The certificate is dated 10 July 2008. The register retains the historical spelling “Orissa” in the registered name. [4]

A geographical indication connects a registered product to its place of origin. That does not by itself establish the origin or status of every item sold under a similar description. We have not claimed GI authorisation for GolGadi or the reference photograph.

Let the artist complete the account

Ask what a scene depicts, which materials were used, and whether the piece was made by the artist offering it. A meaningful introduction should make those questions easier to ask. As GolGadi meets makers, we want their own accounts of process and subject to sit alongside the general craft history.