Mysore painting is the devotional court art of the Wodeyar kingdom of Karnataka — deities and jewel-toned figures set against deep maroon and dark-green grounds, crowned with matte burnished gold leaf laid over thin low-relief gesso.

Subtler and flatter than Tanjore's thick raised work, its signature is gold that glows rather than glitters, painted with muted mineral and vegetable pigments: indigo, turmeric, and pomegranate.