{"product_id":"selfie-with-cats-in-kalighat-by-uttam-chitrakar","title":"Selfie with Cats in Kalighat by Uttam Chitrakar","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis Kalighat painting by Uttam Chitrakar brings a delightfully humorous, multi-layered layer of irony to the historic fish-eating ascetic cat motif, seamlessly blending old-world social satire with an acute parody of today's smartphone-obsessed selfie culture. Kalighat art has historically relied on the anthropomorphization of animals to comment on human vanity, ego and the performance of social status. By replacing the classic umbrella or prayer beads of traditional 19th-century artworks with a modern mobile device, the artist cleverly reinterprets the feline's age-old hypocrisy as a hunger for digital attention, validation, and social media posturing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt the center of the composition is a big, plump white cat rendered with smooth, rhythmic physical curves that embody the monumental volume characteristic of the Kalighat school. Its sleek fur is decorated with bold, fluidly painted black spots resembling teardrops, while a long, dark tail heavily textured with fine linear cross-hatching sweeps down and falls gracefully along the floor. Clamped firmly in its jaws is a grey fish.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRather than sneaking off to eat its prize in secret, the cat raises its left front limb high into the air to snap a selfie with a tiny, gold-rimmed smartphone. The cat’s head is tilted upward in a classic influencer angle, its sharp almond-shaped eye glancing toward the screen with an amusing mix of vanity and pride. To complete this picture of modern material wealth, the cat is heavily ornamented with a thick golden chain necklace around its neck and delicate golden bracelets wrapped around its paws.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA much smaller companion cat sits nestled in the lower-left corner, echoing the posture of its larger counterpart but entirely unbothered by technology. Sporting a matching black-and-white spotted coat and gold bracelets, the smaller feline tilts its head straight back, looking directly upward toward the grand selfie-taker. This dual relationship creates a humorous narrative contrast between the natural, instinctual cat below and the thoroughly modernized cat above. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe painting features the Kalighat school’s signature economy of line, utilizing thick, continuous black outer contours to define the heavy shapes of the felines in a single, confident brush stroke. The color palette relies on a sophisticated contrast between the clean monochrome tones of the animals and the warm tones of the background and jewelry. By reimagining a legendary regional fable through the lens of universal modern habits, this piece celebrates the ever-evolving storytelling legacy of Bengal’s rich folk heritage.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Uttam Chitrakar","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45957725651158,"sku":null,"price":6000.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1194\/1498\/files\/Selfie-with-Cats-and-fish-in-Kalighat-by-Uttam-Chitrakar-1.png?v=1725605766","url":"https:\/\/www.memeraki.com\/products\/selfie-with-cats-in-kalighat-by-uttam-chitrakar","provider":"Memeraki Retail and Tech Pvt Ltd.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}