Is black a colour? There is still debate in which it represents the darkest shade, the result of the absence or complete absorption of visible light. Black is a colour without tone, a neutral base like white – its opposite – and gray. It lacks tonality and luminosity because it absorbs light without reflecting any of its component rays. Historically, the colour black has been used to represent darkness, mourning, solemnity, and authority, but it has also been linked to elegance, the unconscious, and individualism. Especially in the last century, the most revolutionary of all. Black symbolizes chaos. Now, it returns to the fore as the primary colour and absorbs the rest of the opponents, but first let’s investigate a little in the imaginary of a colour without colour.
From prehistoric origins: Art, the underworld and death.
Black was one of the first colours used in art. It was used by Paleolithic artists in cave paintings with drawings of bulls and other animals made with charcoal and later, pigments of more intense tones were made with manganese oxide or animal bones. In ancient times, the Egyptians gave positive associations to black: it was the colour that represented fertility (the soil flooding from the Nile was black). It also represented the god Anubis, guardian of the underworld, who took the form of a black jackal and offered protection against evil to the dead. For Classical Greece, black was also the colour of the “other world”, separated from the land of the living by the Acheron river, whose waters were black. The Greeks often used this colour in pottery with black figures set against other red figures. Interestingly, in the social hierarchy of ancient Rome, black was used by artisans. It wasn’t a deep, rich tone because the vegetable dyes they used to make black weren’t solid or long-lasting, so they often faded to grays or browns. Black was also the Roman colour of death and mourning. In the 2nd century BC, Roman magistrates began to wear a dark robe for funeral ceremonies. In Roman poetry, death was called the black hour.
From the darkness of the Middle Ages to the Renaissance
In the Middle Ages, black was associated with evil and darkness. It was the colour of magic, witchcraft, and the dark arts. In fact, the devil in medieval paintings was depicted in human form, but with black wings, skin, and hair. Europe also dressed in black during the bubonic plague episodes as a sign of mourning. In the fashion of the time, black did not have the prestige of red, the colour of nobility and was worn by Benedictine monks as a sign of humility and penance. Despite this, black could also symbolize power as the secret in the medieval world. The emblem of the Holy Roman Empire of Germany was a black eagle. Also the black knight in the poetry of the Middle Ages was an enigmatic figure, without identity.
In the Renaissance, the connotations of the colour black began to change. High-quality black dyes were introduced to the market, allowing garments of deep, rich black to be produced. It was at this time that magistrates and government officials dressed in their black robes, as a sign of the importance and seriousness of their positions. As only the nobility could wear bright colours like red or royal blue, the burgeoning middle class like bankers and merchants began to adapt black in their robes and dresses to distinguish themselves socially.
The colour of the Spanish court during the Golden Age
Black was a fashionable colour in the Spain of the Golden Age. It became the emblem colour of the Spanish Habsburgs, Carlos V and his son, Felipe II, who saw it as a symbol of power, dignity, and humility. and temperance. A world power such as Spain after the discovery of America, dictated the fashion and transferred the taste in the dress of the Spanish court to the rest of Europe. The black was austere and sober, but also rich in nuances and made one better appreciate the complexity of the fabrics used. The brighter and more solid it was, the more social status the person who wore it had.
In Baroque painting there was also a resurgence of the colour black in the treatment of light and shadow in the works of Caravaggio and Rembrant or in the paintings of Velázquez, and later Goya . Who does not remember his famous black paintings? Later, when the Netherlands became a new world power, they determined a new fashion: clothing and rigid ruffles were loosened, but the colours did not return because among the Dutch the Reformation had triumphed, and the colour of the protestants was also black.
Black in the contemporary era
In the 18th century, during the European Age of Enlightenment, black lost its popularity as a fashionable colour. Paris became the capital of fashion, and pastel blue, green, yellow and white became the colours of the nobility and upper classes. After the French Revolution, black re-established itself as the dominant colour. The Industrial Revolution is also characterized by black, largely fueled by coal and later by oil. Charles Dickens and other writers of the time described the dark streets and smoky skies of London, and they were vividly illustrated in the engravings of the French artist Gustave Doré . Black was also the colour of romantic literature. The tone of melancholy, romanticism and nostalgia for the past. Stormy castles, rainy nights, secret meetings at midnight … black had a fantastic component and was adopted by the poets of the time.
The black of impressionist artists
Impressionism did not recognize black as a colour. This pictorial trend, which began in France around 1870, was very popular and, even today, the viewer considers impressionist paintings as the culmination of pictorial beauty. Édouard Manet used the colour black for its strength and dramatic effect. Manet’s portrait of painter Berthe Morisot was a study in black that perfectly captured her spirit of independence. Black gave the painting power and immediacy. Henri Matisse quoted the French impressionist Pissarro as saying: “Manet is stronger than all of us: he made light with black.” Another famous painter: Pierre-Auguste Renoir used luminous blacks, especially in his portraits. When someone told him that black was not a colour, Renoir replied, “What makes you think that? Black is the king of colours ”. Vincent van Gogh used black lines to shape many of the objects in his paintings. In the 20th century, the colour black also experienced a new splendor. The Russian painter Kasimir Malevich , created the ‘Black Square’ in 1915 and it is considered the first purely abstract painting. For Henri Matisse , black was a prized colour. “When I didn’t know what colour to leave, I put black,” he said in 1945.
A symbol of individualism
Black clothing concentrates on the face, considered the center of individuality, the impression that a person produces. Not surprisingly, in the 1950s, black was used as a symbol of individuality and intellectual and social rebellion, the colour of those who did not accept established norms and values. The philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre always wore black. Singer Juliette Greco, who embodied existentialism in more popular attitudes, was famous for her black shaded eyes, black corduroy pants, and chin-length black turtleneck. Black also became popular as a differentiating colour among all groups that did not feel like an integral part of the mass and did not participate in the values of adaptation. Rebels without a cause invariably wore black leather jackets. Then came the reign of rock’n’roll , punk fashion, and the goth subculture with a kind of Victorian-inspired funeral fashion.
The favorite colour of 20th century fashion
Black is the colour of elegance because it means giving up austerity and the desire to attract attention. Who wears black, renounces even colour. For this reason, wearing black symbolizes being successful without risk. This is especially evident in the more conservative men’s fashion: the elegant suits, the tailcoat and the tux, are always black. Black was also considered the colour that the artists wore so that the character did not overshadow the work: whoever wears black does not need to be interesting with other colours, personality is enough.
One of the big names in fashion who revolutionized 20th century women’s fashion was Coco Chanel. The French designer simplified women’s wardrobe with her great masterpiece: the little black dress . The short dress that until today has been ideal for all formal occasions. “A woman needs three things: a black dress, a black sweater and, on her arm, the man she loves,” she said. Black was also the favorite colour of Cristóbal Balenciaga, who wanted to rescue the splendor that it had centuries ago and bring it back to fashion. It also had power in Christian Dior who stated that the colour black “could be worn at any time, at any age and for any occasion.” For his part, the designer Gianni Versace considered that black: “It is the quintessence of simplicity and elegance”, and the French designer Yves Saint Laurent said: “black is the link that unites art and fashion”. In all the history between cinema and fashion, one of the most famous black dresses of the last century was designed by Hubert de Givenchy and worn by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’.
Designers also wear black
We have seen it. Black has captivated the fashion industry with its understated elegance and chromatic harmony in which fabrics and textures also play a fundamental role. In fact, many of the industry assistants who sat in the front row called them black crows because of the clothing they used to always wear. Beyond a trend of the moment to reclaim its throne in the winter of 2021 with monochromatic looks, wearing black from head to toe has always been a wise option that does not have to be boring or monotonous. The catwalks have once again spoken for themselves with proposals that give this timeless “uniform” a twist . Alberta Ferretti, Fendi, Isabel Marant, Versace, Chanel, Gucci or Dolce & Gabbana review the seasonal looks that are full of rigorous black.
Beyond sophistication, mystery, elegance or individualism, this colour in turn has also been adapted by famous contemporary designers who have made it their preferred colour to display for the gallery. Of course, each one is true to its style. It is impossible not to imagine Carolina Herrera without her black knee-length skirt; to Tom Ford without his perfect black suit or Karl Lagerfeld without his iconic black glasses . In its more casual versions, for example, Alexander Wang with a black T-shirt and jeans or Yohji Yamamoto who made black an emblem of Japanese design stand out. “Black is modest and arrogant at the same time. Black is lazy and easy, but also mysterious”. Of the colour without colour par excellence, he also immortalized a phrase to The New York Times newspaper: “I don’t mess with you, so don’t bother me.” And he applies his mantra to the last consequences both in his designs and when dressing himself. Consistency, first and foremost.
