Original Signed Patachitra Painting Bengal Tiger from India, "The Royal Bengal Tiger II"

This impressive painting depicts a wild Bengal tiger, known as the pride of India. Montu Chitrakar, belonging to a specialized class of artists, paints this piece with natural dye on ivory tree paper in the traditional patachitra style, which blends oral storytelling with visual imagery. The artist's tiger paintings have been used by the WWF for their Save The Tiger project.

The word pata is derived from the Sanskrit and Pali word meaning "cloth," and chitra means "picture." Patachitra means "picture painted on cloth," and it refers to a storytelling tradition originating in the Medinipur region of West Bengal. The painter community is called Patua, and all of the artists bear the same last name Chitrakar, meaning "painter." Through this unique art form, the bard presents the story with pictures while simultaneously narrating a song called "Pater Gaan." Patuas use colors extracted from various trees, leaves, fruits, flowers, seeds, and clay. Traditionally, their themes revolved around mythological stories, but the newer generations of Patuas paint about contemporary social issues ranging from violence against women to climate change. They are deftly capturing the changing times.

Patachitra artists once had a unique style of presenting their craft: they would go to different villages, singing and telling the stories within the paintings with song and ethos to these themes. Interestingly, despite the fact they all belonged to the Muslim community and practiced Islam faith, they all painted about Hindu gods and goddesses and sang songs in their praise. They did not see their religious beliefs as a barrier to their craft.