Madhubani paintings are the most prominent art from the Mithila region of Bihar. Madhubani is a town in Mithila that played its role in taking this local art form global so Madhubani Paintings is the name that the world knows.
Brief History of Mithila
The Mithila region of Bihar lies mostly between the north banks of the Ganga and the foothills of the Himalayas in Nepal.
It is best known for being home to Mata Sita, who was also known as Maithili as she hailed from his region. Her father’s kingdom was in a place called Janakpur which is now in Nepal but just a few kilometers across the border.
Sita was born or rather found in a place called Sitamarhi. However, she first met and then married Sri Ram at Janakpur. Ram-Janaki wedding is a popular theme in Mithila Paintings.
Mithila region is known for innumerable ponds that are found here, fish that is fondly eaten here, Makhana or foxy nuts that grow here in abundance, sweet language, and smiling people. It is primarily an agrarian society.
Legacy of Mithila or Madhubani Paintings
Mithila paintings were traditionally wall art, that the women painted on their walls. They were also ritual paintings that would be painted during weddings, childbirth, or different festivals.
Paintings were not meant to be permanent. They painted again every time there was a new event in the family demanding a new painting.
Like every folk art, there is a lot of stylistic and content coding within the paintings. Every community has its own motifs and icons that they painted.
The distinction has gone away with the severe commercialization of the art form. Today, individual artists do have their signature styles but most of the themes are dictated by market demand.
Modern Avatar of Madhubani Paintings
Madhubani Art was first noticed outside the region when British Surveyors visited the region after an earthquake in the 1930s. However, it would need another earthquake in the 1960s for these paintings to become the face of Mithila.
In the 1960s earthquake Pupul Jayakar assigned photographer Bhaskar Kulkarni to survey the Madhubani area. They thought taking the wall art to paper would create a source of livelihood during these tough times for this agrarian community.
This was when artists started painting on paper instead of walls, something that they…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Inditales…