QUINTI ESSENTIAL PAINTING ON CANVAS
Wall Paintings Patachitra for home decor, An annual ritual in the famous Jagannath Temple of Puri, a beach town in the State of
Orissa, has given rise to one of Indias most treasured folk art from India, the Patachitra. The origin of the ancient India art Patachitra
paintings can be traced back to the 8th century AD and it is considered as one of the earliest forms of indigenous paintings. Each
year, the painted wooden images of Jagannath, Balabhadra,and Shubhadra in the Jagannath temple of Puri are ritually given the holy bath.
This cleansing leads to the discoloration of the images. Hence, they are removed from the garbha griha (the Seat in the Temple) for
repainting. During this period, the temple images are substituted with three paintings, depicting the holy trio, on specially treated
clothes or Patas prepared by the temple painter. Thus the name Patachitra (Sanskrit Pata = cloth, Chitra = painting). Organic colors
are used in the Patachitras.
The leaves of plants, flower petals, fruits (like mangooes), ground rocks and even the urine of domesticated animals
contribute to the production of a variety of shades and hues. The predominant gem like colors that are used are vermilion red derived
from cinnabar, brick red from red ochre,yellow from orpiment, blue from indigo,green from green leaves, white from conch shell and black from lamp black. Once, the colors are extracted they are combined with gum resin and then used in painting. The brushes used to apply the paint are prepared from plant fibers or animal hair. The depiction of images in a Patachitra is not always uniform.
