Madhubani Paintings

Madhubani Art (or Mithila painting) is a style of Indian painting, practiced in the Mithila region of India and Nepal. It was named after Madhubani District of Bihar, India which is where it originated. The Madhubani paintings is an ancient style of painting that originates 2500 years ago. While cow dung is used for the shine it imparts to the colored patches, glue helps the paint to bind well with the special handmade paper used for these paintings. This painting is done with various tools, such as fingers, twigs, brushes, nib-pens, and matchsticks and using natural dyes and pigments. Following the age old methods of painting, artist, till date, mixes cow-dung and rock-salt glue to the paints. It is characterized by its eye-catching geometrical patterns. There is ritual content for particular occasions, such as birth or marriage, and festivals, such as Holi, Surya Shasti, Kali Puja, Upanayana, and Durga Puja.

Madhubani painting (Mithila painting) was traditionally created by the women of various communities in the Mithila region of the Indian subcontinent. It originated from Madhubani district of the Mithila region of Bihar. Madhubani is also a major export center of these paintings. This painting as a form of wall art was practiced widely throughout the region; the more recent development of painting on paper and canvas mainly originated among the villages around Madhubani, and it is these latter developments that led to the term "Madhubani art" being used alongside "Mithila Painting."