Handpainted – Pattachitra – Dancing Ganesha in Rose and Saffron

Provenance

'Dancing Ganesha in Rose and Saffron' is a Pattachitra painting from Odisha of Ganesha dancing on a black ground beneath an ornamental arch. The dancing Ganesha is a joyful and much-loved form, and the Pattachitra treatment here, with its bold outlines and bright flat colours, gives it real energy.

Ganesha is shown with a rose-pink body, a white face and a golden crown, his four arms raised and one hand held in blessing. He wears saffron trousers patterned with red flowers, a blue sash and a red scarf that swings out on both sides, and he lifts one foot in dance. A small white mouse with a blue saddle cloth looks up at him from a blue and black chequered floor, and an arch of orange and green scrollwork rises above.

Rose pink, saffron and black lead the palette, with blue, green and red as accents. A yellow mosaic inner border and an outer border of coloured eye-shaped motifs and flowers frame the scene. It is a cheerful, auspicious painting for an entrance, a family room or a child's room.