Madhubani:
Reflection of Bharat Automatic translate

The Russian Academy of Arts presents the exhibition “Madhubani: Reflection of Bharat,” dedicated to traditional painting from the Indian state of Bihar: the exhibition will be based on graphic works, paintings, and painted papier-mâché sculptures from private Russian collections.

Bharat is an ancient Sanskrit name for the Indian subcontinent, meaning "cherished". The Madhubani style of painting, named after a district in the state of Bihar, and also known as Mithila painting, tells of the most cherished things that inspire, touch, disturb and reflect the very lives of millions of Indians: communication with the gods and their glorification, daily work and the world around them, the fragile female body, but also her strong spiritual inner world.

A conqueror of world museums and contemporary art fairs, this style has its roots in ancient times. The tradition of religious wall paintings by senior women of the upper castes in the newlyweds’ chambers ("kohbar") in the villages of the Mithila region has been known since at least the 14th century, but these paintings became known to the general public only in 1934 under very tragic circumstances: British official William Archer went to Mithila to eliminate the consequences of a powerful earthquake that took the lives of thousands of people. But, in the process of examining the area, he discovered bright, expressive paintings on the protruding walls of destroyed houses.

For several more years he photographed them, and in 1949 he published his famous article "Mithila Painting" in the magazine "Marg", which marked the beginning of a comprehensive study of this type of painting. Originally sacred, images of solar signs, anthropomorphic creatures, fish, birds, turtles, snakes, lotuses, bamboo shoots and other symbols of the Hindu pantheon of gods, designed to attract well-being and prosperity to the house, bless the newlyweds with numerous and healthy offspring, the paintings of Mithila houses interested Europeans and Americans so much that dozens of researchers, ethnographers, anthropologists, and, of course, art dealers flocked to Mithila, offering local artists, supplying them with materials, to transfer sacred images onto paper, and even to expand the range of topics. This is how more personalized and detailed images of the most revered deities in this region (Shiva and Parvati, Durga riding a lion, Hanuman, Kali, Radha and Krishna, etc.) emerged.

Separation from the wall and the acquisition of a more secular character began to transform this painting from sacred to folk. Images of single divine symbols grew into thematic cycles dedicated to individual deities and scenes from the Ramayana (Rama and Hanuman go to Lanka to free Sita, Shiva and Parvati with their family, etc.).

In 1955, Indian designer Upendra Maharathi organized the first exhibition of Madhubani art in the Bihar state capital of Patna, which in turn attracted the attention of officials of the All India Crafts Council. When the first national Academy of Arts, the Lalit Kala Akademi, was opened in Delhi in 1954, at the initial stage of its formation it sought to support all forms of Indian art - studio, experimental, tribal, folk, including Mithila painting.

Despite the conceptual disagreements within the Academy itself about the direction it should take and whether fine arts should be mixed with folk forms, Mithila painting had already moved far beyond Bihar, the Academy, and even India. However, as an independent form of painting, it was still on shaky legs. This instability again attracted the close attention of the All India Crafts Council during the great famine of 1966-1967 in the state of Bihar, caused by a severe drought. An official of the Crafts Council, Pupul Jayakar, sent boxes of paper to Madhubani, inviting women to provide for themselves and their families by copying ritual paintings on paper for sale in Delhi galleries. For the first time, men were also allowed to paint Mithila, which also brought a lot of new things to the formation of the style. And previously anonymous images began to have authors, and outstanding names began to appear among them. Unexpectedly – ​​neither for the artists themselves nor for collectors – the plastic, stylistic and thematic transformations of Madhubani’s style became a mirror of the social changes of Independent India.

The exit from the space of "kokhbar" to the big world turned the gaze of Mithil women to the themes of technical progress, social activism, environmental protection, and, of course, to a deep understanding of feminism through their ancient plastic language. In the 1970s, the unceasing interest of collectors from the USA and Japan led to the emergence of the first Madhubani museums in these countries. At the same time, the prominent Soviet journalist V. I. Korovikov began to collect his collection, which is now part of the State Museum of the East. Admiration for the vivid images of Mithila painting, a scientific approach to the study of contemporary Indian art, and, of course, a profound interest in the traditions of Hinduism still encourage Russian collectors Andrey and Ekaterina Terebenin, Kirill Mironov and Vladimir Bykov (Tradart Museum), and Russian-Indian businessman Sammy Kotwani (Indian Business Alliance) to go on expeditions, be friends and collaborate with the largest Indian galleries, and form private collections of Indian fine and applied art, the best examples of which are presented at the exhibition "Madhubani: Reflection of Bharat". The project is part of the Indian state program "One Region - One Product".

The text was prepared based on an article by Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Arts Ksenia Sopova.