Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art
Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art
Property from a Private Collection, Minnesota
Sita Harana (Abduction of Sita)
Auction Closed
March 21, 06:10 PM GMT
Estimate
700 - 900 USD
Lot Details
Description
Property from a Private Collection, Minnesota
Baua Devi
b. 1940
Sita Harana (Abduction of Sita)
Natural pigments and ink on paper
Signed and inscribed in Devanagari on reverse
29 ⅞ x 39 ⅞ in. (75.8 x 101.2 cm.)
Executed circa 1970s
Baua Devi is an esteemed Mithila (or Madhubani) painter from Jitwarpur, Bihar. She followed in the footsteps of important early Mithila artists such as Sita Devi and Ganga Devi, who were part of the pioneering shift which transposed the art form from the walls of the domestic space onto paper and canvas. Mithila painters use natural pigments and dyes, applied with brushes, fingers, twigs, matchsticks or nib pens. The paintings reveal striking patterns, incorporating traditional Indian themes and motifs.
Interest in Mithila art began to increase in the 1960s and Baua Devi has herself become a celebrated painter of this genre. She began this art form as a teenager and went on to win the National Award in 1984 and Padma Shri in 2017. In 1989, her work was shown at the Magiciens de la Terre at Centre Pompidou, Paris, the only female Indian artist to be exhibited.
Baua Devi's exquisite Mithila paintings tell stories of Indian mythology, rendered through a kaleidoscope of intricate patterns and natural color.