How did Madhubani Art Originate?

It All Began at a Wedding.....

Weddings are among the most notable moments of one's lifetime. Everyone wants to capture the moment they say 'yes' to their partner and preserve it for eternity using photographs and videos. Wedding photographers nowadays are a very integral part of weddings today, however, this wasn't the case decades ago. 

Just like how weddings mark the advent of a new phase of a relationship, one particular wedding was responsible for the advent of Madhubani art. Wondering whose wedding that was? 

How did Madhubani Art Originate?

Madhubani Art, or Mithila Art as it is otherwise known originated in the Madhubani district of Bihar, India. This region, originally known as 'Mithila' is said to have been ruled by King Janaka, the father of Sita. It is commonly believed that King Janaka commissioned the best artists in the kingdom to create pictures of the wedding of his daughter to Lord Ram. The artists used dyes extracted from available natural materials to draw and create elaborate pictures of the wedding, setting the precedence for the creation of an art form that would later become eponymous with the region it originated in.

From the Women of Mithila

While very little information is present about the early Madhubani artists, it is safe to say that this glorious art had withstood the test of time owing to the efforts of generations of Madhubani women, who have left no stone unturned in ensuring that the know-how of the art is passed on. For centuries, the women of Madhubani decorated the freshly plastered mud walls of their houses with beautiful motifs representing gods, daily life, animals, and a host of other things.

Over time, these women began to decorate bags, clothes, and other household fabrics with Madhubani motifs resulting in this art gaining more prominence. With time, these artists began to draw Madhubani motifs not only on walls and clothes, but on wood, paper, and other media. With time the art began to spread beyond the boundaries of Bihar, artists across India and the world took to replicating and reproducing the motifs and embellishing them using acrylic paint, and other synthetic pigments resulting in its increasing popularity. Despite its growing popularity, the traditional art form, created from natural dyes continues to remain in vogue. 

The Elements of Traditional Madhubani Art

Nowadays, when we hear of Madhubani Art, more often than not what we witness is art inspired by Madhubani motifs. Very few people practice the traditional art form. True Blue Madhubani artists prepare their own base material by plastering their house walls with mud. Artists who intend to preserve the art form while choosing to popularise it create intricate pieces of art on handmade paper treated with cow dung to preserve the brightness of the vegetable dyes.

They prepare a dark color ink using cow dung and charcoal and prepare bright-colored dyes using turmeric, flowers, and vegetables. Pens fashioned from bamboo sticks are used to draw outlines. The colors and patterns depend on the type of painting. 

While Madhubani Art has indeed withstood the test of time, some forms of art are significantly more popular than other. Different communities employ different styles in creating motifs. The story behind each of these styles itself is intriguing and is best left to a separate blog post!