Dhaka Rickshaw Painting × Kalighat Pat

Another Bengali popular-picture tradition made by working artists for ordinary buyers.

From the research on Dhaka Rickshaw Painting

Mix them and make something Dhaka Rickshaw Painting Kalighat Pat

A sample layout drawn from the recipe: shapes from Dhaka Rickshaw Painting, their arrangement from Kalighat Pat, the finish from Kalighat Pat. Not a real work, and not an image of either style.

What each style brings

Each part of the design comes from the style with the stronger say in it, and each style gives at least two.

Dhaka Rickshaw Painting Kalighat Pat & Battala Bazaar Prints

Type from Dhaka Rickshaw Painting: Hand-lettering
Colour from Dhaka Rickshaw Painting: Full polychrome
Fluorescent & neon
Form from Dhaka Rickshaw Painting: Abundant decoration
Floral & vegetal

Kalighat Pat avoids abundant decoration: this is where the two pull against each other.
Composition from Kalighat Pat: Isolated object
Single focal point
Surface from Kalighat Pat: Painterly brushwork
Carved line

The type

Open fonts standing in for each style’s own type, which is often hand-drawn or commercial.

Display · Dhaka Rickshaw Painting

Fiesta

Rozha One, standing in for Hand-painted Bangla lettering

Text · Kalighat Pat

The bazaar art of nineteenth-century Calcutta: watercolours sold to pilgrims by patua painters at the Kalighat temple, and the cheap woodcuts and metal engravings that Battala presses printed for chapbooks and almanacs. A single plaque-like figure stands on unpainted paper, drawn with one loaded, sweeping brushstroke that both outlines and shades it. Deities share the repertoire with satire of the Westernised babu, domestic scandal and street life.

Archivo; Kalighat Pat used Bengali captions cut into Battala woodblocks and Bengali letterpress text of Battala chapbooks and almanacs

The colours

The ground and leading colours come from Dhaka Rickshaw Painting, with a counter-accent from Kalighat Pat. The ink reads on the ground at 4.5:1 or more.

Dhaka Rickshaw Painting Kalighat Pat & Battala Bazaar Prints

#f2c200 ground · 36%
#111111 ink · 14%
#e8559b accent · 18%
#e0a92e accent · 14%
#1b4fa0 accent · 10%
#c73e2b accent · 8%

As CSS

:root {
  --ground: #f2c200;
  --ink: #111111;
  --accent-1: #e8559b;
  --accent-2: #e0a92e;
  --accent-3: #1b4fa0;
  --accent-4: #c73e2b;
  --font-display: "Rozha One", serif;
  --font-text: "Archivo", sans-serif;
}

Use it with care

Dhaka Rickshaw Painting: This is a living craft practised by working, rarely credited artisans, tied to Bangladeshi communities and particular districts, and it is endangered as rickshaws decline; imitate its manner with care, credit makers where known (some sign with steel pins) and do not present pastiche as authentic rickshaw art.

Kalighat Pat & Battala Bazaar Prints: Many sheets depict Hindu deities that are still worshipped (Kali, Durga, Lakshmi, Krishna), and some were painted for Muslim patrons (Duldul, Imam Husain's horse), so do not distort, crop or place these figures in mocking or disposable contexts. The patua (chitrakar) families of Bengal still practise the art; commission or credit living painters rather than tracing museum images, and name the artist where known.

The two styles

A brightly painted poster with large yellow Bengali lettering frames a river scene with a rising sun, sailboats, a bridge, a city skyline and a mosque. Symmetrical floral borders contain peacocks, kingfishers, a tiger, a deer, a waterfall and a rural house among palm trees.

1950–present · South Asia Dhaka Rickshaw Painting Oil paintings made by street artists on the metal back-board and canvas hood of cycle rickshaws in Bangladesh. Film stars, flowers, birds, landscapes and religious scenes appear in bold, raw colours, framed by borders and decked with appliqué, tinsel and plastic flowers. UNESCO inscribed it in 2023. Unlike the chrome, bone and wood work of pakistani-truck-art or the jeepney's metal ornament, its core is a framed oil picture panel, often led by a film-star portrait, with a plainer appliquéd hood. 1830–1930 · South Asia Kalighat Pat & Battala Bazaar Prints The bazaar art of nineteenth-century Calcutta: watercolours sold to pilgrims by patua painters at the Kalighat temple, and the cheap woodcuts and metal engravings that Battala presses printed for chapbooks and almanacs. A single plaque-like figure stands on unpainted paper, drawn with one loaded, sweeping brushstroke that both outlines and shades it. Deities share the repertoire with satire of the Westernised babu, domestic scandal and street life.