Tiger in the Moonlit Night

In the late 60’ and early 70’s Jogen Chowdhury brought into the public domain personal erotic fantasies that germinated with a life of their own. Chowdhury depicted many disturbing subjects in his paintings such as soft pillows and mattresses, ripe pumpkins sheltering a fertile life in their core, limp flowers drooping from a vase almost always painted against a dark background.

‘Tiger in the Moonlit Night’ is charged with the powerful undercurrents in a man-woman relationship, insinuating a compelling sexual energy, mixed with insecurity and vulnerability. The strong imagery is complemented with the use of supple lines defining the figure and the tonal variations created by cross- hatchings.