Humanities 101: Non Western Art Critique

Deanna Miller

Humanities 101

Feb 28, 2016

Madhubani art is a traditional style of Hindu painting that originated in the Mithila region of Nepal. The paintings are distinctive and a prized part of the Mithila culture. The distinctive style is passed on through the women of a family, from mother to daughter, and so the tradition lives on even today. Madhubani painting is a traditional folk art with themes that have changed through the generations. Originally painted on the mud walls of a family’s hut for decorative purposes, Madhubani paintings have gained in popularity and are now sold commercially for profit (Color of India). Older Madhubani paintings displayed themes of a symbolic nature that represented fertility, rejuvenation, or prosperity. These paintings originally served as a preparation of marriage and so themes like fertility were appropriate. Other traditional themes include depictions of Gods and Goddesses. The eyes of the subject are oversized and almost always shown in side profile. The themes of today reflect current issues facing women and are considered more socially charged than before. Painting is seen as a women’s tradition and women of the region have taken advantage of that fact and have begun using their paintings to bring about awareness of women’s rights in the themes of modern Madhubani paintings (Madhubani Painting). Madhubani paintings serve as an important cultural aspect of the region and will remain so for generations to come.

Madhubani painting is distinctive from other Hindu painting styles in many ways. Although it is not known when Madhubani paintings originated, The Madhubani region has had its own distinct regional identity for up to 2500 years. Madhubani paintings are created on mud walls, canvas, or cloth. To apply the natural dyes and pigments women of the region use a multitude of tools such as twigs, matchsticks and fingers (Indian Folk Art…).

Color is an important aspect of Madhubani paintings as almost all Madhubani paintings are colorful if not overly so. Realist color choices are not used in Madhubani as people are often shown in deep shades of blue or yellow. Modern Madhubani paintings however usually depict people in neutral flesh tone shades. Animals are also a popular subject of these paintings and are also shown in side profile with overly large eyes and also in unusually colors. Colors are also very highly contrasting. A color on one side of the spectrum may be used adjacent from a color on the other side. For example blue next to yellow or red next to green. This contrast creates a pop in the paintings that is very eye-catching.

Another distinctive aspect of Madhubani paintings is the use of repetition and the use of space. Shapes are repeated over and over till fill almost all available space. Small flower shapes, circles, squares, and lines are very repetitious. There is almost always a decorative, repetitive border on Madhubani paintings that further fills empty space. Although the repetition makes if difficult to distinguish between the background, middle ground, and foreground, one could see the main figures as the foreground and middle ground and the repetitious shapes and flowers as the background.

There are some other things to be mentioned about the seven elements of art that make Madhubani paintings unique. The seven elements of art include line, shape, color, value, form, texture and space. As mentioned above color and space are the main factors that make Madhubani paintings unique. The value of the colors is very uniform and there seems to be no effort to create the illusion of light in these paintings. There are no tints or shades. The texture of the older Madhubani paintings would be more emphasized because of the application of color using fingers or more basic tools. Today these paintings are mass produced prints with no texture. The application of lines are thick and sometimes harsh. The form of these paintings is very two-dimensional and has very little depth because of the lack of value in the colors. Objects are both organic and geometric with the central figures being more organic and the repetitious background being more geometric.

The principles of design should also be mentioned when analyzing Madhubani paintings. These seven principles include unity, rhythm, emphasis, pattern, movement, contrast and balance. As mentioned above contrast, pattern and rhythm are important principles of Madhubani paintings. Most paintings feature some kind of symmetrical balance with the use of small repeating shapes in the background. There is some movement in these paintings but with the lack of value it is not very noticeable. There is emphasis on the main subject of the paintings because the repeating background is easily overlooked and draws the eye to the subject rather than the background. Unity is also seen in these paintings as even though there is a lot of details in these paintings they are all of the similar design and so they work together well.

Madhubani paintings are an interesting part of this local culture and will continue to be popular for generations to come. These paintings preserve a local culture and help spread this rich culture to all around the world.