Important Notice

Krishna with Gopis

c. 1970s
Earth, oxide colours on handmade paper
30 x 22 in (76.2 x 55.9 cm)



For generations the womenfolk of the Mithila region (or the town and district of Madhubani in Bihar) have been creating ceremonial and devotional floor paintings and murals during festivals, auspicious occasions like weddings and other milestones like births and naming ceremonies. They use simple brushes made of bamboo and raw cotton, and natural vegetable and mineral colours to depict nature and mythological scenes. The artists are free from stylistic influences and use their own imaginations and thoughts to convey their ideas. Strong forms, double outlines and flat fields of vividcolour are a feature of this style.

In the early 1970s, following a severe draught in the state, the All India Handicrafts Board of the Government of India sponsored a program organised by Upendra Maharathi and Bhaskar Kulkarni to support these women painters. They were given paper for the first time, and asked to transfer the works they would normally paint on the walls and floors of their homes to this ‘new’ surface, so they may be sold and provide an alternative source of income. Several books have been published on this subject, and similar works can be found in the permanent collection of in the Crafts Museum, New Delhi, as well as many public and private collections in India and abroad.

Read more on The Living Tradition of Mithila Paintings

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