Baua Devi (b. 1942) of Jitwarpur was among the youngest of the first generation of women who, in 1966, moved Mithila painting from wall to paper. Over some sixty years she developed a vivid, narrative style — often centring Sita — and became one of the form’s great names.
She was the sole Indian woman in the landmark Magiciens de la Terre exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris (1989), and her work has travelled to Japan, the USA and beyond. The Padma Shri (2017) crowned a career that helped make Madhubani a global art.