Watercolor Painting: Babu is taking selfie with his Bibi and dog with rose

Matted and framed watercolor painting of a man and woman posing for a "selfie" picture, taken with their mobile phone/cellphone, with a black dog at their feet. A miniature image of their profiles is depicted in the screen on the cellphone. Woman is holding a red rose, and has a rose in her hair. Dog has a rose at the tip of its nose. The artist's signature and date, "Bhaskar Chitrakar 2020", in black script is applied to the bottom proper left corner of the painting. The painting is mounted in a white sink mat with a plexiglass glazing and wood frame. The back of the framed art is covered with a corrugated paper backing.

Watercolor painting is in the Kalighat painting style, which is practiced in Kalighat in Kolkata city, West Bengal. Emerging in the 19th century in the context of the temple of Kali as a souvenir, these paintings became a means by which artists could provide social commentary. Babu (English for native Indian clerk) is a figure that appears in these paintings with his wife or Bibi (a respectful title for a woman). The style of painting has long involved caricatures of Indians assuming airs in the context of British colonialism – they are in short pointed critics of class and mimicry. Bhaskar's work continues this tradition but does so within the context of people's use of mobile phones/cellphones. This painting was purchased through an online gallery (https://www.gallerist.in/kalighat-painting/babu-is-taking-selfie-with-his-bibi-and-dog-with-rose). Working through a translator (NYU PhD Rohan Sengupta and Mattew Webb) in Hindi and Bengali, I [Joshua Bell] spoke via zoom with Bhaskar on 8/16/2021, and he related that "Bashkar's general interest is cellphones which have taken over public life – everyone taking photos and selfies. This is where he got interested in the selfie form. This is the first attempt at sketching it at the cellphone. He is happy that people are taking notice of this."

14 Feb 2023

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