ART AND FILM APPRECIATION

Demystifying
the Madhubani
An art form that spans generations.
01 Introduction

02 Style and Design

03 Madhubani Artists

04 Contemporary Times

05 Significance
Introduction
It's beautiful how two
dimensional imagery can
depict the reality of lives
and form deep
connections with
mankind. Such is the
Indian art form of
Madhubani that has
survived generations and
still continues to awe
people through its
simplicity.
●The term Madhubani means
"honey forest".
●Madhubani painting is a
traditional fashion of painting
also known as Mithila painting
named after the Mithila region, in
the villages of Jitwarpur and
Ranti, near the city of Madhubani
in the state of Bihar.
●showcase the psychology of the
society to which it belongs.
However, it also reflects the
morals,values and customs of the
region.
●Madhubani paintings are Characterized
by complex geometrical patterns filling the
entire background.

●They have characteristic facial forms with

fish shaped eyes and pointed noses.

●Usually has a double lined border.

●Uses fingers, twigs, brushes, nib-pens,
matchsticks .

●Colors used are derived from the plants

and natural sources.

● Predominantly made by the women of the

mithila region.

History
●The history of Madhubani paintings
can be traced back to the time of the
Hindu epic Ramayana when King
Janaka, (the ruler of Mithila Kingdom in
the 8th or 7th century BCE) had asked
his painters to create Madhubani
paintings in order to capture the
moments of his daughter Sita's
wedding to Prince Rama.
● Mithila painting was discovered and
brought into the light to the outside
world in 1934 when a massive
earthquake hit Bihar.
●The British Colonial officer of the
Madhubani district, William G.
Archer chanced upon these
paintings on the interior walls of the
homes while he was examining the
damage caused by the earthquake.
●The knowledge was passed down
from generation to generation and
the paintings began to adorn the
houses of the region. The women of
the village practised these paintings
on the walls of their respective
homes.
●Their paintings often illustrated
their thoughts, hopes and dreams.
●Traditionally, Madhubani paintings
were made by hand on a plastered
●Madhubani paintings became a wall or on a mud wall, but now the
part of festivals and other special commercial demand is bringing them
occasions like weddings. to paper, canvas and clothes.
Style and
Design
The Highlight of Madhubani
paintings
The wall surfaces are prepared by plastering with cow dung or
first white-washed on which paintings are made. The paints
were previously prepared but now they are procured from
villages from the market town of Madhubani, Purnea with the
supply coming from Kolkata. The colours used are gulabi, nila,
sindura, sugapankhi (green). Originally black was made from
burnt barley seeds, yellow from turmeric, or chuna (lime) mixed
with milk from banyan leaf, orange from palash flower, red from
the juice of the kusuma flower and green from bel leaves.

Methods
How
Madhubani
Comes to
Life
The colors are often prepared by the
artists themselves. If the artists
come across empty spaces even
after completing the painting, they
usually fill up those empty spaces
with the motifs of flowers, animals,
birds and geometrical patterns. A
double line is usually drawn as the
border.
These paintings are also known for
As a form of heightened
their simplicity, for the brush and
expression, Madhubani is a
colors used are often derived from
rather special form of art. The
natural sources. While the
folk paintings of Mithila region
paintings are largely made using
are made on walls; the murals
powdered rice, colors derived from
are what is commonly
turmeric, pollen, pigments, indigo,
understood as Madhubani
various flowers, sandalwood, and
painting.
leaves of various plants and trees.
 Religious
Themes in the The choice of colours and subject matter depicts the finesse with which
Madhubani these artists perform this complicated task.

Social
Folk art is such a form of art which is associated to common man. This
art is related to a particular society, caste and religion. This form of
painting is practiced as a ritual.

Nature
The study of Folk art establishes a deep relationship between art and
culture other than the aesthetic deliberation. Due to their style and
technique they gained immense fame and recognition in the world.
 Notable
Madhubani
Artists
Feminist paintings
1.Sita Devi
Sita Devi was a pioneering Madhubani artist,
who exhibited the nature and influence of the
arts in the socio-political development of an
underdeveloped region in rural India. She
brought the bharni form out of homes and
showcased it in public, both in India and abroad.
Her work was officially recognized by the
Government of India in 1981 and she was
awarded the Padma Shri.
2.Mahasundari Devi
It was in 1961 when Mahasundari Devi
shed her purdah (veil) and picked up the
brush to practice Madhubani which
further inspired future generations to
empower themselves. She was the
founder of Mithila Hastashilp Kalakar
Audyogki Sahyog Samiti, that aimed at
supporting the growth and development
of art and artists.
3. Malvika Raj
While Madhubani art still retains the traditional
practice of illustrating scenes from Hindu
mythology, Malvika Raj, a Dalit woman artist
from Samastipur, Bihar has been subverting the
genre by illustrating folklore surrounding
Buddha’s epoch. However, her idea of
representing her narrative through Madhubani
art has not been met with complete support from
the mainstream community, as she recalls being
harassed for shifting from the traditional
depiction of Hindu mythology in art.
4.Pushpa Kumari
Born in 1969 and brought up under the
guidance of her prolific grandmother
Mahasunderi Devi, Pushpa Kumari
illustrates social issues through a spiritual
perspective. The oneness that she views the
world with and the emotional intensity of
her approach towards social issues like
HIV, female foeticide or even mythology
differentiate her from her artist
counterparts.
5.Mahalaxmi
The legacy of these Madhubani artists is
carried further with the rise of a
generation that wishes to illustrate the
issues close to their personal narratives,
that are influenced by their gender.
Mahalaxmi is one of the numerous young
artists who wish to use this art form to
set a discourse around problems such as
street harassment and education.
Contemporary
Times
In Contemporary Times
Madhubani art is an important part of the life of people
in a village called Ranti in present day Bihar. These
globally famous paintings were first brought into
international spotlight in 1962 CE, when a foreign
artist traveling through this town was attracted by the
murals. He persuaded women to paint those same
drawings on paper, so that he could take them and
show them in his country.

·Madhubani paintings continue to primarily depict the

nature and the Hindu mythological figures and the
themes are generally associated with Hindu deities,
fish, birds, animals, natural objects like the sun, moon
and religious plants like Tulsi (a sacred plant in Hindu
mythology) or Banyan tree. Central objects of the
artwork, scenes from the royal court and social events
like weddings are also widely painted. Madhubani
Paintings have traditionally two forms: Bhittichitra
(paintings made on a mud-wall) and Aripana (on the
ground-soil).
In Contemporary Times
Finding out the artistic excellence of these
paintings in the 1960s CE, some government
officials took the initiative to popularise the art
in order to uplift their financial earnings. With
the recent initiatives taken by the local
government, NGOs and cultural organisations,
the Madhubani art has been brought to an even
greater level of popularity and recognition.

In the field of fashion, many designers have

launched Madhubani designs collection such as
traditional outfits (Stoles, Sarees, Salwar kameez,
long skirts, etc.) which are beautifully designed in
Madhubani art. Many other day-to-day useable
products like pen-cases, bags, diaries, etc. are
painted in Mithila art and are very popular.
In Contemporary Times
With special-interest tourism
growing fast and being a highly
lucrative alternative to traditional
mass-market travel. Madhubani
paintings of the Mithila region have
great potential along with the other
cultural resources of the region to
attract foreign tourists.

Art-loving tourists from across the world have
taken a keen interest in the rural tourism and
heritage of India and Madhubani paintings have
scaled new heights beyond the boundaries of
Mithila. Madhubani painting enjoys an
international popularity, especially in countries
like Japan, Germany, France and the USA.
The Mithila Museum in Tokamachi, Japan,
founded by a famous Madhubani art lover,
Hashegawa exhibits around 1000
Madhubani paintings of various themes
and styles.
In Contemporary Times
The women who practice this art
form in the village use it as an
opportunity to create
awareness on social issues and
to empower women. These
women aim to empower other
women through painting and
creating awareness on issues
like education and eve-teasing.
They are encouraging their
students to paint on topics that
are closer to their hearts –
anything from folk tales they
might have heard during their
childhood to the status of
women in society today.
Madhubani
and its
significance
Madhubani beyond
•In 2012, more than 100 trees were decorated using
Madhubani painting by Shashthi Nath Jha, who runs an NGO
Gram Vikas Parishad, and started the initiative in an attempt
to protect trees that were being cut down in the name of
paintings expanding roads and development.

•This method proved to be an effective way to make the

villagers aware of its consequences like climate change and
global warming.

• The important thing is that not a single tree was cut down.

• The main reason behind this was the trees being adorned
with forms of gods and other religious and spiritual symbols
like Radha-Krishna, Rama-Sita, scenes from Ramayana and
Mahabharata and other mythologies.

• This instilled reverence and prevented the trees from being

cut. In this way, Madhubani beyond paintings became an
instrument against deforestation.

•In the 1960s when drought-hit Bihar, the All India

Handicrafts Board encouraged women in villages around
Madhubani town to make ritualistic paintings on paper to
generate income.
•Slowly the style of painting found its way onto many articles
from greeting cards to salwar kameez materials

Madhubani stole
Madhubani paintings in accessories
and apparels
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