Genuine Madhubani Paintings & Madhubani Artworks

Madhubani Painting, also known as Mithila Painting, is a traditional form of painting that comes from the Madhubani district of Bihar. Madhubani art has been practiced in various parts of Bihar and eventually found its way into the world of contemporary art. Originally started as a form of bhitti chitra (wall painting), it has now extended to different mediums like cloth, canvas, paper, wood, sarees, and everything that you can think of! Madhubani art paintings find their roots to the time of Sita’s wedding, when King Janaka ordered the entire city of Mithila to be decorated with paintings, hence they are also known as Mithila paintings and have a divine relationship with the portrayal of all kinds of symbols. The Madhubani style of painting was done traditionally by women and was considered a feminine form of art. Now, it is equally practiced by both men and women in various districts of Bihar like Jitwarpur, Rajangarh, Ranti, Rasidpur, etc. Madhubani art is painted on various auspicious occasions of marriage, festivities, birth, etc. Madhubani paintings were a discovery of a British officer, Willain Archer, who was on an inspection duty during the 1934 earthquakes in Bihar. While examining the damage the earthquake had caused to the houses in Madhubani district, he chanced upon these Madhubani style paintings which were done on the walls. He is accredited for having some of the earliest evidence of these paintings as black and white photographs. After repeated natural disasters which caused damage to their houses, artists, mainly women, shifted to other mediums like cloths and papers in order to preserve this prestigious art of Madhubani painting. Madhubani art paintings are known for their motifs and symbols; each and every painting is meticulously planned out in a manner that sends out a symbolic message. Madhubani art is one where you’ll always find the canvas full of color and patterns; the empty spaces are filled in with flowers, leaves and a barrage of colors, neatly placed within geometrical borders. In Madhubani paintings, motifs are related to Hindu mythology, flora, and fauna. One can find Madhubani most famous paintings of Radha and Krishna, Ram and Sita, Shiva and Parvati, Maa Durga, Ganesha, and other deities. Apart from these religiously themed paintings, Madhubani paintings are famous for depicting the varied elements of nature, what’s special is that they all have a meaning behind them; fish symbolizes fertility, elephants symbolize strength, power, wisdom, and loyalty, peacocks symbolize love, knowledge, and romance, trees symbolize long life, lotus symbolizes the female gender, and so on. Such Madhubani artworks have helped in spreading awareness about social issues like deforestation as well. Madhubani art paintings are known for their motifs and symbols; each and every painting is meticulously planned out in a manner that sends out a symbolic message. Madhubani art is one where you’ll always find the canvas full of color and patterns; the empty spaces are filled in with flowers, leaves and a barrage of colors, neatly placed within geometrical borders. In Madhubani paintings, motifs are related to Hindu mythology, flora, and fauna. One can find Madhubani most famous paintings of Radha and Krishna, Ram and Sita, Shiva and Parvati, Maa Durga, Ganesha, and other deities. Apart from these religiously themed paintings, Madhubani paintings are famous for depicting the varied elements of nature, what’s special is that they all have a meaning behind them; fish symbolizes fertility, elephants symbolize strength, power, wisdom, and loyalty, peacocks symbolize love, knowledge, and romance, trees symbolize long life, lotus symbolizes the female gender, and so on. Such Madhubani artworks have helped in spreading awareness about social issues like deforestation as well. Madhubani style paintings are of five different forms; Bharni, Kachni, Godhana, Tantric, and Kohbar. Bharni, as the name suggests, is the process of creating a Madhubani painting that is filled with motifs and bright colors where the main subject of the painting is highlighted in black outline. This style specifically focuses on depicting Hindu gods, goddesses, and mythological figures. Kachni, on the other hand, is a monochromatic form of Madhubani paintings, where the paintings are only made up of two colors with an intricate work of lines. Godhana style is considered as one of the simpler renditions of Madhubani art, with a tattoo like painting made from bamboo pen and lampblack ink. Kohbar is a form of Madhubani painting usually done on the occasion of marriage and primarily made in the homes of the bride and the groom. Lastly, Tantric style of painting is one of the Madhubani most famous works as it focuses on the depiction of gods and goddesses and is a religiously influenced theme. Like many other painting styles, Madhubani paintings were also made by using natural colors and organic brush. Over a period of time, people shifted to readymade colors and brushes but in some parts of Bihar, people still continue to use natural colors and stick to the authentic Madhubani style of painting. For bhitti chitra Madhubani, the painting was done on wet plastered walls of cow dung or simply whitewashed walls. Colors were sourced from various plants, flowers, and organic materials. Vibrant colors like red, yellow, white, green, blue, and pink are used extensively; green was made from bel leaves, orange from palash flower, red from Kusuma flower, black from burnt barley seeds or soot, yellow from turmeric, and yellow ochre, white from rice powder, light brown from cow dung, pink from pipal’s bark, blue from berries of sikkar and many more organic materials were used for obtaining colors. For the brush, a bamboo twig is used for painting with its tip wrapped with a cloth, and sometimes, even the simple use of fingers, matchsticks, and nib pens weaves magic on the canvas. Interestingly, Madhubani paintings share common features with the concept of Feng Shui. The Feng Shui Art is the Japanese concept of manifesting positive energy in one’s home through art pieces which have abstract motifs and symbolic meaning behind it ‒ somewhat similar to the Indian concept of Vaastu Shastra. Feng Shui art and Madhubani style paintings are art forms which thrive on symbols; flowers, birds, water, fishes and other motifs are commonly used in both the art forms. Flowers like lotus create harmonious energy, trees and birds together are closely linked to a long life and divinity and so on. Just the way Madhubani artworks have a balanced use of symbols to bring in good luck, the same way the philosophy of Feng Shui art is also believed to be lucky if kept in a specified space. Today, not only are Madhubani paintings recognised because of their unique motifs and use of color, they are also recognised worldwide due to the hard work put in by famous artists. Women artists emerged from various states of Bihar and carried on the tradition of painting traditional Madhubani paintings. Artists like Sita Devi, Baua Devi, Ganga Devi, Mahasundari Devi, Yamuna Devi, Dodavari Dutta and the works of many such talent driven women led to the diversification of this art form. Their Madhubani paintings have received worldwide acknowledgment and awards like the Padma Shri, several national and state awards. In our collection of Madhubani art paintings, you can find artworks related to everything from religious themes, flora, and fauna to mythological characters. Take a look at Madhubani Elephants Painting, Loving Peacock-Peahen Madhubani Painting, Radhe Krishna Madhubani Painting, Krishna & Gopis Madhubani Painting, Madhubani Tree of Life Painting, Peacocks on Tree Madhubani Painting, Loving Fish Madhubani Painting, Madhubani Doli Scene Painting, Peacocks & Elephants Madhubani Painting, Madhubani Peacock Painting, Peacock and Fish Madhubani Painting, Lord Krishna Madhubani Painting, Madhubani Peacocks Painting, Madhubani Shiva Tandav Painting and Madhubani Peacock Wings Spreading Wings Painting.