Madhubani Painting

History
Developed out of the modest families of Madhubani in Bihar, a state in eastern India, this form of tribal painting has astonished all art lovers. This ethnic mode of painting is one of the best conserved art forms in India. Madhubani paintings have been traditionally a women’s domain since 16th century. The women in a Madhubani family used to paint the walls and floors at hand in the festive season and family occasions.

Commonly known as Mithila Painting
Previously this painting was also known as Mithila painting. The people of Mithila in north Bihar adhere to their oldest tradition and orthodox notion that the land of Mithila or Mithilanchal is more sanctified in comparison to other parts of Bihar. The notion perhaps roots from the historical concept that Mithila (Sita) was first to be added under the tempt of Aryan culture, so the Mithilis take pride in their persistence of custom, language and culture. They are known to adhere to the infinitesimal details in rites from birth to death according to the Shastras.

Forms of Mithila/ Madhubani Painting
Two most common forms of Madhubani paintings are known as Kachni and Bharni:

Kachhni Kachhni or the line art is one of the forms of Madhubani paintings which do not use various colors. In this art black and white colors are used. It was basically a practice of elaborate wall paintings of the nuptial chamber, Kohbar Ghar with representations of the lotus, bamboo grove, fish, birds and snakes in union, which largely symbolizes fertility and life. This form is graded for its complex detail that enables the look of whole paintings like delicate thoughtful embroidery.

Bharni The Bharni style of painting literally means filling. It applies bold black sketches to clearly specify the subject. The inserted orbits are filled with vibrant colors of orange, pink, aquamarine blue and yellow. The artists’ magnificence rests upon the equilibrium between pattern, aspects and fields of color they use in their paintings

Down the Ages
Women of Madhubani village have been rehearsing this art form since ages, but it came to the in front only in the 1960s, when a drought strike the area and people had to find out a substitute non-agricultural origin for survival. At that time, the best alternative was the marketing of these traditional paintings on handmade paper. But today, it has become one of the most renowned tribal Arts of the world.

Commercialization of Mithila Painting
Madhubani literally means a forest of honey. This mode of painting has been traditionally practiced by the women of the region, although today men are also implied to cope with the demand. The work is performed on newly plastered or a mud wall. The work is now being done on paper, cloth etc for commercial purposes. This makes their art more feasible as exhibiting and selling their art became easier. This brought with it a new revolution in their creativity as having paper and cloth as their canvas, the artwork became easily movable for shows and exhibitions as well more economical for the artists.

Madhubani is situated in the north eastern part of Bihar and is very-well known for its exceptionally beautiful and very colorful art the women folk of this areas who have been practicing their art for centuries. These creations portray mythological and holy events, which are closely linked to spirituality, particularly marriage and its consequence and other facts of life. Previously they were created on mud-walls and floor. But now from the mud walls and cracked interiors of rural folks, the palette of Indian Madhubani Paintings has spread its color to international art galleries.

Application of Colors
The colors are practiced flat without shading. There is usually a double line depicted for the outlines, with the gap between them filled by crisscross or direct tiny lines. In the running painting, no colors are applied. Only the outlines are drawn. There are basically two types of colors used by the Madhubani artists, which are :

• Natural Dyes: These colors are made using natural extract found locally like henna leaves, flowers, neem leaves, etc. These extracts are then fused with resin from banana and ordinary gum to make it stay on for a longer time on the painting medium.
• Synthetic Colors: It is used as an alternative to the natural dyes. Using synthetic colors saves time as the time taking process of making natural dyes is annihilated.

Themes Portrayed
Most Madhubani Paintings mostly feature nature related themes. Hindu deities like Krishna, Rama, Siva, Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati are the common subjects of Madhubani Painters. Apart from deities the women also paint celestial subjects like Sun, Moon and the holy Tulsi plant. Intricate floral, animal and bird motifs, and symmetrical geometric designs fill up the gaps.