https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Ganga_Devi_%28painter%29Ganga Devi (painter) - Revision history2026-08-18T12:30:58ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ganga_Devi_(painter)&diff=420221&oldid=prevAjay Kumar: Created a new article2023-08-28T15:01:50Z<p>Created a new article</p>
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{{short description|Indian painter}}<br />
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'''Ganga Devi''' (1928 &ndash; 21 January 1991)<ref>{{cite web |last1= |first1= |title=Ganga Devi - Library of Congress |url=https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n97920932 |website=id.loc.gov |publisher= |access-date=10 December 2022 |language= |date=}}</ref> was an Indian painter,<ref name="Ganga Devi: Tradition and expression in Madhubani painting">{{cite journal | title=Ganga Devi: Tradition and expression in Madhubani painting | author=Jyotindra Jain | journal= Third Text| year=1989 | volume=3 | issue=6 |pages = 43–50| doi=10.1080/09528828908576213}}</ref> considered by many as one of the leading exponents of [[Madhubani painting]] tradition.<ref name="Riding the Rollercoaster with Ganga Devi">{{cite web | url=http://50watts.com/Riding-the-Rollercoaster-with-Ganga-Devi | title=Riding the Rollercoaster with Ganga Devi | publisher=50 Watts | date=2015 | access-date=9 September 2015}}</ref> She is credited with popularizing the Madhubani painting outside India.<ref name="Madhubani Magic of Gangadevi">{{cite web | url=http://www.pitara.com/non-fiction-for-kids/features-for-kids/madhubani-magic-of-gangadevi/ | title=Madhubani Magic of Gangadevi | publisher=Pitara | date=2015 | access-date=9 September 2015}}</ref> She was born in 1928 in [[Mithila, India|Mithila]] in the Indian state of [[Bihar]] in a [[Kayastha]] family and took to the traditional painting craft, specialising in the ''kachni'' (line drawing) style.<ref name="Ganga Devi - Artist Profile">{{cite web | url=http://www.mithilapaintings.com/artist-profiles/52-ganga-devi-artist-profile.html | title=Ganga Devi - Artist Profile | publisher=Mithila Paintings | date=2015 | access-date=9 September 2015}}</ref> She traveled abroad with her art and was a part of the ''Festival of India'' in the United States,<ref name="Madhubani Magic of Gangadevi" /> which yielded a number of paintings under the title, ''America series'', including ''Moscow Hotel'', ''Festival of American Folk Life'', and ''Ride in a Roller Coaster''.<ref name="Riding the Rollercoaster with Ganga Devi" /> The [[Government of India]] awarded her the ''National Master Craftsman Award''<ref name="Madhubani Magic of Gangadevi" /> and followed it up with the fourth highest civilian award of [[Padma Shri]] in 1984.<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web |url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Awards |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |date=2015 |access-date=21 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2015 }}</ref><br />
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In the 1980s, Ganga Devi painted the famous mural Kohbar Ghar or bridal nuptial chamber at the Crafts Museum in Delhi. The Mural was painted over a period of three to four months while Ganga Devi was undergoing chemotherapy in a Delhi Hospital.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/museum-art-erased/cid/1481349|title=Museum art erased|website=www.telegraphindia.com|language=en|access-date=2019-03-15}}</ref> The Mural was demolished as part of a renovation plan at the Museum in early 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Crafts-museum-renovation-wipes-out-famed-Madhubani-murals/articleshow/48893039.cms|title=Crafts museum 'renovation' wipes out famed Madhubani murals - Times of India|website=The Times of India|access-date=2019-03-15}}</ref><br />
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== Early life ==<br />
When Ganga Devi was still a child, she was handed her first brush by her mother, which was made of rice straw and a few threads drawn from the hem of her [[sari]]. Ganga Devi took soot scraped from the bottom of a cooking pot, or from the chimney of a hurricane lantern and used it as ink. It was a common practice to mix the soot with cattle urine, gum arabic dissolved in water, or sometimes even goat's milk. She learnt this from her cousin sisters and aunts, their mothers and grandmothers. Due to lack of paper in the village, she used to practice on a canvas made from the pages of her school notebook that were often glued onto cloth.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.pitara.com/non-fiction-for-kids/features-for-kids/madhubani-magic-of-gangadevi/|title=Madhubani Magic of Gangadevi {{!}} Pitara Kids Network|last=De|first=Aditi|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-06}}</ref><br />
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== Career ==<br />
Ganga Devi got selected for the "Festival of India in US".<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.realbharat.org/ganga-devi-madhubani-art-culture-of-india-145/|title=Contribution of Ganga Devi– Synonym of Madhubani Art to Culture of India|last=shampasaid|website=Realbharat|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-06}}</ref> She represented Indian art form in Russia and Japan. She narrated all her experiences through paintings, after which she was honored with the a National Award for Crafts by the Indian Government.<ref name=":1" /><br />
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When Ganga Devi was detected with cancer, in the 1980s, she could not go back to Mithila as she was prescribed regular [[Chemotherapy]].<br />
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== Notable Work <ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.inditales.com/madhubani-artist-ganga-devi-mithila/|title=Mithila's Madhubani Artist Ganga Devi & Her Paintings|last=Goyal|first=Anuradha|date=2015-05-04|website=Inditales|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-06}}</ref>==<br />
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=== Ramayana Paintings ===<br />
She painted the famous Indian Epic, [[Ramayana|The Ramayana]], in a series of paintings, with the use of subtle colors.<br />
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=== Manav Jivan (Life of Mankind) series ===<br />
In this series, she painted the detailed life cycle including various stages, of a rural woman.<br />
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=== Artwork inspired from USA ===<br />
When Ganga Devi traveled to the US, she translated her experiences into paintings. It was a series of her observations.<br />
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== Personal life ==<br />
Ganga Devi's married life was tormented.<ref name=":2" /> She was abandoned by her husband, as she could not conceive a child. He married another woman, to whom she lost everything. However, her destiny took a turn when a French art collector, who paid her for making some paintings for him.<ref name=":0" /> And from this point in her life, her career only expanded.<br />
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==See also==<br />
* [[Madhubani painting]]<br />
{{Portal|India|Arts}}<br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}<br />
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==Further reading==<br />
* {{cite journal | title=Ganga Devi: Tradition and expression in Madhubani painting | author=Jyotindra Jain | journal= Third Text| year=1989 | volume=3 | issue=6 | pages=43–50 | doi=10.1080/09528828908576213}}<br />
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{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Art}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Devi, Ganga}}<br />
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts]]<br />
[[Category:1928 births]]<br />
[[Category:1991 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian painters]]<br />
[[Category:Tribal art]]<br />
[[Category:Women artists from Bihar]]<br />
[[Category:Indian women painters]]<br />
[[Category:Culture of Mithila]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian women artists]]<br />
[[Category:Painters from Bihar]]</div>Ajay Kumar