MADHUBANI ART

Madhubani painting, also referred to as Mithila Art (as it flourishes in the Mithila region of Bihar), is characterized by line drawings filled in by bright colours and contrasts or patterns. This style of painting has been traditionally done by the women of the region, though today men are also involved to meet the demand. These paintings are popular because of their tribal motifs and use of bright earthy colours. These paintings are done with mineral pigments prepared by the artists. The work is done on freshly plastered or a mud wall.

For commercial purposes, the work is now being done on paper, cloth, canvas etc. Cotton wrapped around a bamboo stick forms the brush. Black colour is obtained by mixing soot with cow dung; yellow from turmeric or pollen or lime and the milk of banyan leaves; blue from indigo; red from the kusam flower juice or red sandalwood; green from the leaves of the wood apple tree; white from rice powder; orange from palasha flowers. The colours are applied flat with no shading and no empty space is left.

Figures from nature & mythology are adapted to suit their style. The themes & designs widely painted are of Hindu deities such as Krishna, Rama, Siva, Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Sun and Moon, Tulasi plant, court scenes, wedding scenes, social happenings etc. Floral, animal and bird motifs, geometrical designs are used to fill up all the gaps. The skill is handed down the generations, and hence the traditional designs and patterns are widely maintained.

In order to create a source of non-agricultural income, the All India Handicrafts Board and the Government of India have been encouraging the women artists to produce their traditional paintings on handmade paper for commercial sale. Madhubani painting has become a primary source of income for scores of families. The continuing market in this art throughout the world is a tribute to the resourcefulness of the women of Mithila who have successfully transferred their techniques of bhitti chitra or wall painting to the medium of paper.

ORIGIN

The origins of Madhubani painting or Mithila Painting are shrouded in antiquity. Tradition states that this

style of painting originated at the time of theRamayana, when King Janak commissioned artists to

do paintings at the time of marriage of his daughter, Sita, to Lord Ram.

Madhubani painting has been done traditionally by the women of villages around the present town

of Madhubani (the literal meaning of which isforests of honey) and other areas of Mithila. The painting

was traditionally done on freshly plastered mud wall of huts, but now it is also done on cloth, hand-made

paper and canvas.

As Madhubani painting has remained confined to a compact geographical area and the skills have been

passed on through centuries, the content and the style have largely remained the same. Madhubani

paintings also use two dimensional imagery, and the colors used are derived from

plants.Ochre and lampblack are also used for reddish brown and black respectively.

Madhubani paintings mostly depict nature and Hindu religious motifs, and the themes generally revolve

around Hindu deities like Krishna, Ram,Shiva, Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. Natural objects like the

sun, the moon, and religious plants like tulsi are also widely painted, along with scenes from the royal

court and social events like weddings. Generally no space is left empty; the gaps are filled by paintings of

flowers, animals, birds, and even geometric designs. Objects depicted in the walls of kohabar ghar (where

newly wed couple see each other in the first night) are symbols of sexual pleasure and procreation.

Traditionally, painting was one of the skills that was passed down from generation to generation in the

families of the Mithila Region, mainly by women.[1] The painting was usually done on walls during

festivals, religious events, and other milestones of the life-cycle such as birth,Upanayanam (sacred thread

ceremony), and marriage.

 A Madhubani painting in the Godana style by Chano Devi, depicting a scene from the myth of God Salhesa. (right) A painting of Goddess Kali in the Bharni style by Krishnakant Jha.

 Two Snakes, by Krishnakant Jha, in the Bharni style.

 Ganesha, by Dulari Devi, in the Kachni style.

 Doll Kahar or ina Palanquin, by Krishnakant Jha, in the Bharni style.

 Hurar, a local animal, by Bhagvati Devi, in the Geru style.

                                                   

5 FACTS ABOUT MADHUBANI PAINTING

Fact OneMadhubani art is practised around Mithila and Madhubani areas of Bihar, India (close to the Nepal-India border). Madhubani

literally means "forests of honey"

!

Fact Two Traditionally this art was practised by women only to decorate their huts during religious and important occasions.

Nowadays men have also taken up this artform and paintings are done on paper, cloth, canvas etc. But even though women

in the villages around Madhubani have been practicing their folk art for centuries, the world at large has come to know about

these women and to consider them to be "artists" only in the last thirty years. Even now, most of their work remains

anonymous. The women, some of them illiterate, are in any case reluctant to consider themselves individual producers of

"works of art" and only a few of them mark the paintings with their own name.

Fact ThreeAmong the first modern outsiders to document the tradition of Madhubani painting were William and Mildred Archer. He was

a British civil servant assigned to the district during the colonial era. The Archers obtained some drawings on paper that the

women painters were using as aids to memory. Works that the Archers collected went to the India Records Office in London

(now part of the British Library) where a small number of specialists could study them as creative instances of India's folk art.

What led the women painters to share their work with the larger world was a major ecological and economic crisis that

resulted from a prolonged drought in 1966-68 that struck Madhubani and the surrounding region of Mithila. In order to create

a new source of non-agricultural income, the All-India Handicrafts Board encouraged the women artists to produce their

traditional paintings on handmade paper for commercial sale. Few women artists who made this artform famous are Ganga

Devi, Sita Devi, Shanti Devi, Baua Devi.

Si

ta Devi, photo Hervé Perdriolle, Jitwapur 1997

Fact FourThe colors used were traditionally derived from natural sources like plants, charcoal soot, ochre etc. Black color is obtained

by mixing soot with cow dung.Yellow color is obtained from turmeric or pollen or lime and the milk of banyan leaves. Blue

from Indigo. Red from Kusum flower juice, red sandalwood or rose. Green from the leaves of apple trees, White from rice

powder, Orange from palasha flowers.

Wall painting made by Yashoda Devi, Madhubani, Bihar

Draft sketch made by Ganga Devi in her Notebook

Anonymous wall painting, Madhubani, Bihar

Painting by Ganga Devi

Fact Five Madhubani paintings mostly depict nature and Hindu religious motifs, and the themes generally revolve around Hindu deities

like Krishna, Rama, Shiva, Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati. Natural objects like the sun, the moon and religious plants like Tulsi

are also widely painted, along with scenes from the royal court and social events like weddings. Generally no space is left

empty ; the gaps are filled by paintings of flowers, animals, birds and even geometric designs. Objects depicted in the walls

of kohabar ghar (where newly wed couple see each other in the first night) are symbols of sexual pleasure and

procreation.Legend says that this artform originated during the time of Ramayana when King Janak commissioned artists to

paint pictures of his daughter Sita getting married to Rama

Painting of Krishna by Ganga Devi

THE ART OF MADHUBANI PAINTINGSAs Madhubani paintings have been confined to a compact geographical area and the skills have been passed on through centuries, the content and the style have largely remained the same.The art of Madhubani paintings requires skill and implies a certain technique. This technique uses simple raw materials that are easily found in villages such as bamboo sticks and cotton. Firstly the cotton is wrapped around a bamboo stick to serve as a brush. Then the brush is dipped in colors and applied on to the fabric. No shading technique is used. The outline is done with double lines. The gaps between the two lines are filled with cross or straight lines. Madhubani paintings were usually done on walls during festivals, religious events, and other milestones of the life-cycle such as birth, Upanayanam (sacred thread ceremony), and marriage.

Madhubani Paintings down the agesWomen of this village have been practicing this art form for centuries but it came to the forefront only in the 1960s, when a drought hit the area and people had to think of an alternative non agricultural source of earning. Selling theseTraditional paintings on handmade paper was the best alternative. And today they are one of the most celebrated Folk Arts of the world.

Themes of Madhubani PaintingsMost Madhubani Paintings mostly feature nature related themes. Mythological figures also find great prominence in these paintings. Hindu deities like Krishna, Rama, Siva, Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati are the most common subjects of Madhubani Painters.Apart from deities the women also paint celestial subjects like Sun and Moon. The holy Tulsi plant is also regularly featured in these paintings. These paintings also act as a visual record of court scenes, wedding scenes and social happenings. Intricate floral, animal and bird motifs, and symmetrical geometric designs fill up the gaps. Since this intricate skill is handed down the generations, traditional designs and patterns are widely maintained .