Madhubani art

Madhubani Art is a style of painting, practiced in the Mithila region of India and Nepal. It was named after Madhubani District of Bihar, which is where it originated. It is done with many tools like fingers, twigs, brushes, nib-pens, and matchsticks and using natural dyes and colours. What separates Madhubani art from other forms of art are its geometrical patterns. This art has 5 distinctive styles. These are:

• Bharni
• Katchni
• Tantrik
• Godna
• Kohbar

Origin

It was created by the women of many communities in the Mithila region of India. It originated from the Madhubani district of the Mithila region of Bihar. Madhubani is a big export centre of these paintings. This painting as a form of wall art was practised a lot throughout the region. Doing the painting on paper originated in the villages around Madhubani much later. It was introduced by a woman named Bhuvi.

Changes

The paintings were traditionally done on mud walls and floors of huts, but now they are also done on cloth, handmade paper and canvas. People made a paste out of powdered rice and used it in the paintings. Madhubani painting has remained in India and Nepal and has been passed down for centuries, although the style has remained the same. Madhubani paintings are done 2 dimensional, and the colours and dyes come from plants. Most madhubani paintings depict people and their association with nature. Scenes from weddings and events and natural things such as the Sun, leaves, flowers and animals are also painted a lot. In these paintings, blank space is filled with flowers, animals, leaves, geometric patterns etc.