Taking a brief Look over the Pride of Madhubani: Mithila Paintings

Depicting Themes

The Mithila paintings always carry some message. Usually, it signifies love for nature like flowers, herbal plants, birds, animals, waterfall, religious motifs of its time including the sun, the moon, and even the deities, social evils, and social structure starting from the king and his men to day-to-day lives of those times. 

Main Features

One of the standing features of this painting is that it uses organic colors composed of materials such as sandalwood, indigo, rice, powder, turmeric, charcoal, etc., and uses tools like brushes, nib-pens, matchsticks, and even fingers. Earlier, it was limited to the walls and floors like a Rangoli, but it also came out on the canvas and hand-made papers with time.

History and Background

As the name suggests, it belongs to the Mithilanchal region of the state of Bihar. It first originated in the region during the mythological time of ‘Treta Yug’. However, it got its first attention under the British era when an officer, William Archer, while evaluating damage due to an earthquake in the Mithilanchal region, had his eyes fell on the Mithila Paintings on the broken walls of debris. One of William’s articles from 1949 compares it to the works of Picasso and Mira based on its characteristics, uniqueness, and brilliance.

Categories and the Gharanas

These paintings have two gharanas, Ranti Gharana and Jitwapur Gharana, named after the two localities of the region of Madhubani. These paintings further had five different categories; Kohbar, Godna, Tantric, Bharni, and Kachan. The last three especially are based on religious themes. The region also has a history of ‘tantriks’, which can also be seen in the paintings.

Evolution in the Society

Initially, only upper-caste women used to draw these paintings, and the themes were limited to mythological scriptures like Ramayana and Mahabharata, but finally, the chains were broken in around the 1960s when Dalit women too came up with their Harijan paintings, mainly depicting King Salhes and Gautam Buddha.

Recognition in the Modern World

With further developments, the Master Craftsman Association of Mithila was set up at Jitwarpur, Madhubani, in 1977, which helped the region's artists economically. But it was as late as 1969 when the paintings received the official honor with Sita Devi being honored by the Bihar Government. Sita Devi was later awarded with Padma Shri, Bihar Ratna, and Shilpaguru awards as well. Later, Mahasundari Devi and Boua Devi, who were also related to Mithila paintings, were also awarded Padma Shri.

So, this was a piece on the brief history of Mithila Paintings which is made unique by its flamboyant themes and delicate sketches. Many aspects are present whenever we look at a painting but seldom do we look at them. I think this piece helps you do that from now on whenever you have a look at a painting.