Learn Tanjore Painting
Master the ancient art of Tanjore painting with expert instruction from Varnalayam.
The art of Tanjore painting
Tanjore painting — Thanjavur chitram — took shape in the 16th century under the Nayaka and Maratha courts of Thanjavur, and carries forward a temple-art lineage that is over 1600 years old. It is at once a painting and a piece of jewellery: the deity is drawn on a cloth-bound wooden board, the ornaments and arches are raised in gesso relief, sheathed in pure gold leaf, and set with glass and semi-precious stones before the colours go on.
The palette is deliberately rich and few: deep reds, greens and blues against gold, with the figure — Krishna, Lakshmi, Ganesha, Rama, Venkateswara — composed compactly within an arch or pavilion. The gold catches lamp-light, which is why a finished panel seems to glow in a pooja room.
Every step is done by hand in a fixed order: tracing, muck work, gold, stones, colour and finishing. The materials are traditional too — jaipur board, chalk-and-glue gesso, 22-karat gold foil, natural and mineral colours — and the method has changed very little in three hundred years.
Learning it at Varnalayam
Varnalayam teaches the complete traditional method, in Telugu and English, from the first tracing to a finished gold-leaf panel. Lessons are recorded step by step by Bharathi Guru, each module is followed by a short quiz, and in-person workshops let you do the gold and stone work under her eye. Students who complete the course receive a Varnalayam certificate and can go on to Special Courses to paint a chosen artwork at a chosen size.
Structured Lessons
Step-by-step video modules from beginner to advanced, taught in Telugu and English.
Expert Gurus
Learn from experienced Tanjore painting masters with decades of traditional knowledge.
Track Progress
Enroll, track your learning, and earn certificates as you master each level.
“Every panel is built the same way it was three centuries ago — gesso relief, 22-karat gold leaf, and hand-set gemstones, taught stroke by stroke.”
Bharathi Guru · Varnalayam
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Ready to begin your Tanjore journey?
Join students learning this 1600-year-old art, guided step by step from your very first brushstroke to a finished gold-leaf panel.