Description

Sun God surrounded by tattoo motifs of birds and animals, painted in the Madhubani style. These paintings depict nature and Hindu religious motifs, and the themes generally revolve around Hindu deities like Krishna, Ram, Shiva, Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. Natural objects like the sun, the moon, and religious plants like tulsi are also widely painted, along with scenes from the royal court and social events like weddings. Generally no space is left empty; the gaps are filled by paintings of flowers, animals, birds, and even geometric designs.

History

Madhubani painting originated in a small village, known as Maithili, of the Bihar state of India. Initially, the womenfolk of the village drew the paintings on the walls of their home, as an illustration of their thoughts, hopes and dreams. With time, the paintings started becoming a part of festivities and special events, like marriage. Slowly and gradually, the Madhubani painting of India crossed the traditional boundaries and started reaching connoisseurs of art, both at the national as well as the international level. The traditional base of freshly plastered mud wall of huts has now been replaced by cloth, handmade paper and canvas, especially in the last fifty years or so.

Skills

The artist needs intense concentration, particularly since the motifs are so densely placed, and since they are painted directly with colour. No pencil outlines are made - evidence of the skill in fine drawing. Great patience is also needed as the artist cannot raise the brush much from the surface, when she is painting such an intricate theme as this.

Aesthetics

There is perfect symmetry in this painting with fine lines. The profusion of little birds forming the motif of this painting, is so neatly painted and with such subtle but distinctive colours that it does not crowd the painting. Rather it enhances its look. The Sun God in the centre also appears perfectly positioned, drawing your attention to the centre and the radiating concentric circles.

Material

Natural colours on handmade paper. The brush used for Madhubani paintings of Bihar is usually made of cotton, wrapped around a bamboo stick. The artists prepare the colors that are used for the paintings from natural sources. Black color is made by adding soot to cow dung; yellow from combining turmeric (or pollen or lime) with the milk of banyan leaves; blue from indigo; red from the kusam flower juice or red sandalwood; green from the leaves of the wood apple tree; white from rice powder and orange from palasha flowers.

Care

Protect from dust and moisture.