Rickshaw Painting of Bangladesh

Rickshaw painting is a form of neo-romanticism emerging in Bangladesh. Artists paint oil works on rear canvas roofs.

The three-wheeled pedicab arrived in the 1940s, undecorated. Movie stars make better back shields than bare metal.

Rickshaw painting began in that decade in Bangladesh.

The trend started in Rajshahi and Dhaka, developing distinct styles per district. Chittagong favored scenery over cinema stars.

Wheel artwork uses bold fluorescent green and dark red.

Author Joanna Kirkpatrick calls it people's art with folkloric, movie, political and commercial imagery. Artists learn from ustads since boyhood.

Makers mark work with a bold steel pin instead of a signature. A steel pin saves time on cursive handwriting.

In 2023, UNESCO listed Dhaka's rickshaws and paintings as intangible cultural heritage.