Madhubani Painting – The Art of Mithila

Madhubani accurately means “Forests of Honey”.

Madhubani painting also known by the name  Mithila painting, this art is basically practiced in Bihar, India & now becoming the worldwide famous painting.

These paintings basically created by fingers, twigs, brushes, nib-pens, matchsticks & colours are extracted naturally like green colour from green leaves, yellow from turmeric, orange colour from the Palash flowers, white colour from rice powder and characterized by stunning geometrical patterns.

Check here Madhubani Painting images!

Madhubani paintings are generally about occasions and festival such as birth, marriage, Holi, Surya Shasti, Kali Puja, Upanayanam, Durga Puja, and other important days in the Hindu calendar and traditions.

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These Paintings use two forms of style to make such as Bharni (shading) and Kachni (hatching). In Bharni style artists uses solid colours to fill the images and in Kachni style artists uses slight fine lines to fill the painting and that doesn’t use a lot of the colours.

These painting generally use symbols like lotus, the moon, sun, fish, elephant, parrot and turtles to demonstrate the occasion of marriages or any other auspicious occasions.

The Origin of Madhubani:

It is believed that this Art originated in the era of Ramayan. It is said that King Janaka, Sita’s father, gave the order to crafters to embellish the entire kingdom with Madhubani art in the occasion of his daughter’s marriage with Lord Ram.

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Discovered by William G. Archer:

This Art was unidentified to the world until it was exposed by the British colonial William G. Archer.

While inspecting the damage after the massive earthquake of 1934, in Bihar, Archer was amazed by the stunning designs on the newly exposed interior walls of homes, and then he took some black and white photos of these beautiful paintings, which today are the recognized as earliest images of this beautiful art.

He wrote on the subject of these paintings in a 1949 article in ‘Marg’ an Indo-Nepal Art Journal.

Learn here how to make Madhubani Painting!

Also read:

Home Tour: Sangitha Aanand of Sajavat

Mandala Art Therapy

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Art of Madhubani:

It also plays a giant role in preventing trees from being cut down. Shocked? Well, this art is used for decorations and also used for worship. Artists of Bihar make this Art on trees depicting Hindu deities and due to strong religious beliefs, people don’t cut them down.

This art has established an international platform and is formed on a variety of things like paper, cloth, canvas, utensils, bangles, paper-mache products, wall hangings etc.

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