Madhubani Paintings
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Madhubani art (or Mithila painting) is a style of Indian painting, practised in the Mithila region of Bihar.
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This painting is done with a variety of tools, including fingers, twigs, brushes, nib-pens, and matchsticks and using natural dyes and pigments.
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It is characterized by its eye-catching geometrical patterns.
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It was traditionally created by the women of various communities in the Mithila region of the Indian subcontinent.
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This painting as a form of wall art was practised widely throughout the region; the more recent development of painting on paper and canvas mainly originated among the villages around Madhubani.
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It is these latter developments that led to the term “Madhubani art” being used alongside “Mithila Painting.”
Its features
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It uses two-dimensional imagery, and the colours used are derived from plants. Ochre, Lampblack and Red are used for reddish-brown and black, respectively.
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It mostly depicts people and their association with nature and scenes and deities from the ancient epics.
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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.
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Generally, no space is left empty; the gaps are filled by paintings of flowers, animals, birds, and even geometric designs.
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Madhubani art has five distinctive styles: Bharni, Kachni, Tantrik, Godna and Kohbar.
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This painting has also received a GI (Geographical Indication) status.