Tanjore Painting

A Tanjore painting is built on a wood panel prepared with cloth and a chalk-based paste, with the deity's figure, most often Krishna, Ganesha, or a form of Devi, raised in relief and finished with genuine gold foil and inset glass or semi-precious stones, giving the finished work its distinctive glinting, three-dimensional surface.

Thanjavur remains the craft's home and holds Geographical Indication recognition for it, and the style remains closely tied to home worship, with finished paintings commonly installed in household shrines rather than viewed purely as decorative art.