The Styles and Possibilities of Madhubani Art

Materials change but old forms continue

Dastkari Haat Samiti

Dastkari Haat Samiti

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Painting - Fine work (2019)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Old madhubani art

Natural colours used in Madhubani painting before the advent of industrial colours always convey a softer, more harmonized appearance. Even while the naturally made pinks, blues and yellows are vivid, in contrast to the chemical based colours of today, they lack the touch of nature and artists stepping out into the marketplace cater more to popular taste than those of the cognoscenti.

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Painting - Fine work (2019)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Old Madhubani paintings used homemade natural colours and were were done with sticks and fingers rather than pens or brushes.
This one has a cow dung washed base.

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Painting - Fine work (2019)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Old Madhubani paintings done with natural colours. The contrast between natural colours and present day industrial ones is evident.

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Painting - Fine work (2019)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Subject matter of old paintings, like the new ones are mostly celebratory in nature.

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Products (2019)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Old paintings are a softer shade of vivid pink and the yellow reflects the turmeric colour from which it was extracted.

Crafts Maps of India - Bihar - 2 (1993-2010) by Neelkant ChoudhuryDastkari Haat Samiti

Contemporary Interpretations

Few artists wish to take the trouble of creating paintings in natural colours unless they know they will find the right price for it or if they decide to go back to their roots and reassert their traditional beliefs.

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Madhubani art (2019) by Satya Narayan Lal KarnDastkari Haat Samiti

The late Satya Narain Lal Karn, national award-winning artist depicted the 4th Sustainable Goal of the United Nations on reducing child mortality.

It displays the natural instinct of animals to protect their young. The work has been executed in natural colors extracted by hand.

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Detail of Madhubani art (2019) by Satya Narayan Lal KarnDastkari Haat Samiti

Detail of the work of Satya Narain Lal Karn showing how elements of the animal kingdom protect their young.

Even the snake, which is revered in rural societies, protects its eggs with love and care.

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Painting - Fine work (2019)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Madhubani painting of the Lord Krishna playing the flute while sitting on a tree.

Figures are drawn first with black ink after which the empty spaces are filled with colours, flowers and other motifs.

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Painting - Fine work (2019)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Madhubani painting of The Goddess Kali holding the heads of demons she has slayed. This is a popular story from Hindu mythology.

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Painting - Fine work (2019)Dastkari Haat Samiti

A Madhubani painting of Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati.

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Half of Godna painting (2019) by Mananama DeviDastkari Haat Samiti

Godna style

The Mithila form practiced by the upper caste communities are slowly merging with the distinct styles, forms and colours of the lower caste Godna paintings. This form of painting evolved from the practice of Nattins, women in gypsy groups who tattooed the bodies of the very poor castes since they could not afford jewellery.

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Process (2019) by Bhadwan DeviDastkari Haat Samiti

They depicted images of their own deity Salhesh on village shrines and add animals, trees and plants in contrast to the upper castes who earlier exclusively created figures from religious mythology.

Godna is instantly recognizable for its cow dung based backgrounds and black outlined drawings, reimagining the original practice of tattooing.

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Process- Fine detailing (2019) by Bhagwan DeviDastkari Haat Samiti

This Godna work is in the form of a mandala done in concentric circles. The shapes and figures are outlined with black paint using nib-pens. This painting revolves around the life of women.

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Half of Godna painting (2019) by Ranjit PaswanDastkari Haat Samiti

Lord Krishna and Radha have been added as subject matter to the repertoire of Godna artists who are today no longer restricted by reason of their caste from themes used by the upper castes.

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Detail of Godna art (2019) by Dileep PaswanDastkari Haat Samiti

Meticulously fine detail in Mahanama Devi’s Godna painting shows extreme devotion to the art.

Many commercially inclined artists jettison quality for quantity, but a high standard attracts a higher value in the art collector’s market.

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Half of Godna painting (2019) by Dileep PaswanDastkari Haat Samiti

The signature of Ranjeet Paswan’s work is the variety of finely detailed textures created in and around the figures of lord Krishna and his consort Radha.

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Painting - Fine work (2019)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Trees and nature are a part of most art from Madhubani, which celebrates nature. Its very name means ‘forest of honey’.

This Godna painting by Mahanama Devi is based on the Rahu puja, praying to the principle deity of the Harijan (Dalit) caste. The work took ten months to complete. This portion is only a part of a 6 ft long painting.

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Detail of Godna art (2019) by Mananama DeviDastkari Haat Samiti

This painting is one of the finest examples of the exquisite art produce by Mahanama Devi.

This detail shows birds flying around in a tree celebrating the presence of their local deity.

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Detail of Godna art (2019) by Mananama DeviDastkari Haat Samiti

Godna art does not shy away from time-taking fine detailing, repetitious imagery and storytelling from the epics or deities followed by their caste.

Human figures have faces that are naïve and almost birdlike in contrast to the sophistication of the detailing.

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Half of Godna painting (2019) by Mananama DeviDastkari Haat Samiti

The crow dives into a shoal of fish to pick out one for its meal. When going on a journey the traveler believes it is auspicious to see fish.

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Godna Painting (2019) by Mananama DeviDastkari Haat Samiti

Birds and fish are always present in art that conveys a blessing or an auspicious greeting in the Godna colour scheme of fine black lines against a dung washed background.

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Products (2019) by Remant KumarDastkari Haat Samiti

Madhubani on Three-Dimensional Objects

The more well-established Madhubani artists now reach international platforms and have gained confidence to innovate dramatically on any kind of surface like fibre glass, metal, cloth or canvas. They ring their own world view to contemporary subjects on the environment, international events and their own experiences of new surroundings.

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Products (2019) by Remant KumarDastkari Haat Samiti

A piece of silk fabric is turned into a stole whose surface is fully hand painted, making it a collector’s piece.

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Products (2019) by Remant KumarDastkari Haat Samiti

Remant tried beautifying ordinary tea kettles and came up with a perfect gift for urban use

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Set of three table with Madhubani art (2019) by Ambika DeviDastkari Haat Samiti

Ambika Devi prides herself on having learned to add script to her art. Three tables depict three different occasions in a wedding ceremony.

The script on the leaves are songs sung on these occasions in the Maithili dialect spoken by the people of Mithila.

Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Detail of Madhubani art (2019) by Hira KanthDastkari Haat Samiti

Detail of the top of a metal trunk.

Madhubani artist Hira kanth was encouraged to change the medium on which she painted. Utility boxes and travel trunks made of steel provided a perfect new base for her fine but vivid work.

Madhubani Painting: Community - Temple (2019)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Credits: Story

Text: Jaya Jaitly
Photography: Chirodeep Chaudhuri
Artisans: Reemant Kumar Mishra and Ranjeet Kumar Paswan
Ground Facilitator: Ankit Kumar
Documentary Video: Chirodeep Chaudhuri
Curation: Ruchira Verma

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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