The concept of black and white painting is as simple as creating paintings in black and white medium or using black and white are the primary or only colors. Throughout history, several celebrated artists have used black and white painting to accentuate various contrasting ideas and realities and represent significant societal issues. They have created some of the most memorable compositions in the art industry.
Black and white abstract painting
Abstract paintings were created at the cusp of the 20th century. Abstract art uses a visual language of shape, form, line, and color to create pieces that may exist independently from conventional visual references in the world.
This means they do not depict specific places, people, or things in the natural world either in their natural or exaggerated form. Instead, it depicts the departure from reality and imagery.
Abstract art is mainly about exploring form and color. Therefore, color is a significant part of abstract art. Black and white are particularly prevalent in abstract painting. Many prominent abstract painters have used these two colors to create a black and white painting context. In the absence of precise representations of imagery (as is the case with abstract art), black and white absract painting is a powerful medium for representing strong emotions and connecting with audiences.
The symbolism of the black and white painting
In the art industry, colors have a lot of symbolism, depending on the cultures, religions, and history. Black and white are primarily symbolic. Conventional and contemporary artists use the colors black and white for various representations. Below are some meanings of black and white colors in paintings:
More often than not, the black and white painting represents opposites. In most cases, white represents pure light, and black represents darkness. Famous artists like Marinus Boezem and Jorge Baldessari used black and white coloration in their paintings to represent contrasting ideas or parts of nature.
In many cultures, white is seen as the color of innocence, purity, peace, and loyalty. For instance, white clothing and decoration symbolize joy around births, baptism, and weddings. Artists like Maria Muller and Hinke Schreuders have used white as a symbol of purity and innocence in many of their works. However, this was mostly in white cultures. In African cultures, white is looked at as a symbol of mourning and death. The symbolism of colors differs depending on the context and the locations.
On the other hand, in many cultures, black is seen as a symbol of death, mourning, and things that need to be concealed. Many cultures and religions also view black as a representation of darkness and, in some cases, power and prestige. Artists like Bart Hess have successfully used black to represent the hidden sensual side of human nature.
The contrast between the two colors makes black and white paintings the incredible phenomenon they are.
Top Five well-known black and white painting
Numerous painters over the years, both conventional and contemporary, have created iconic black and white paintings. The following are five of the most iconic and well-known black and white paintings in history;
Pablo Picasso’s Guernica
Picasso is perhaps one of the most popular painters in history. His abstract works have been viewed and praised by millions of people worldwide. One of his most celebrated works is the Guernica. It is a black and white abstract painting depicting the horrendous bombing operation hurled by the Nazis in Germany before the eruption of World War II. The black and white painting emphasizes the amount of distraction caused by the war and the power of abhorrence and warfare. The black and white pigmentation emphasizes the nature of the war being evil and separates the good from the bad.
Van Gogh’s Cart with Black Ox
Van Gogh is a legend in the art industry. He could grasp the delicate basics of nature in a way that no one else could. His 1884 black and white composition called Cart with Black Ox is one of his most well-known black and white abstract paintings. He used black to represent the depressing nature of the hard physical labor that Oxen go through and white to represent the unique elements of the Ox.
Franz Kline’s Chief
The Chief is a black and white abstract painting by Frank Kline. It was fashioned in 1950 and is currently one of his most celebrated pieces. Kline explained that he put a lot of effort into painting both colors represented on the canvas instead of allowing the void canvas spaces to serve as the white portions. This is why this piece stands out.
Bridget Riley’s Movement in Squares
This black and white painting is considered one of the most celebrated and renowned optical illusion works. Bridget Riley is also considered one of the most famous painters in the optical illusion era in the 1960s. Riley masterfully used black and white squares to represent optical illusion. The squares in the black and white painting seem to dip into a crease slowly. The illusion in the painting is accomplished by the modest manipulation of the girth of the square columns.
Georgia O’Keeffe’s Horse Skull with White Rose
This black and white art is perhaps one of O’Keeffe’s most famous works. She created this painting in 1931, after spending a lot of time in the deserts of Mexico. This black and white abtsract painting takes a dissimilar outlook on the natural discernment of objects like horse skulls and flowers. It explores the thin line between the presence or absence of life. The black and white pigmentation is also used to highlight the fragility of nature. It is among the most eminent black and white paintings of the modern era.
Symbolism in black and white painting?
Colors have a lot of allegory in different cultures, religions, histories, and locations. The two colors have been used in the past and modern artistic era for various representations. In most cases, the two colors are used to represent opposite content, objects, or meanings.
Celebrated painters like Vincent Van Gogh and Boezem Marinus have used these colors to represent contrasting ideas and elements of nature.
Many cultures, especially Western cultures, view white as representing innocence, purity, unity, and allegiance. For example, white is used in special events like baptism and weddings to symbolize purity. Artists like Pablo Picasso have used white to portray purity and innocence in numerous compositions. On the other hand, the contrary can also be applied.
fFor instance, white is considered a representation of mourning in African cultures.
On the contrary, black is perceived as a representation of dealth, evil, and darkness in most cultures. In some cases, it also represents power and prestige. The clear visual and symbolic disparity between the two colors is what makes black and white painting an incredible phenomenon.
Famous black and white painting
Black and white painting, including black and white abstract painting, is a concept that has existed for a long time.
There are famous examples of such paintings in almost every era. The following are a few of the most celebrated black and white paintings globally;
Cart with Black Ox with Van Gogh
Vincent Van Gogh is amongst the most eminent artists in the world. He is known for uniquely capturing some of the most subtle elements in nature. Cart with Black Ox is one of Van Gogh’s popular works composed in 1994.
This composition falls in the black and white painting category because used black throughout and utilized the white color of the medium in some parts. The black color represents the disheartening nature of the tough carnal toil oxen are often exposed to. The use of the medium to create the white portions of the painting is a unique detail representing the fragility of the Oxen.
The Charnel House by Pablo Picasso
This is a black and white painting was done by Pablo Picasso, one of the most prominent painters globally.
The Charnel house is a black and white absract painting featuring several abstract figures. The painting forced its viewers to pay close attention to the form of its subjects because of the voidness of color. This black and white painting is largely and unapologetically political. It featured a horrific murder scene for a family across their dining room floor. The two colors represent the severity of the scene and force viewers to take a good look to interpret what the painting is all about. The primary aim of the composition was to show the destruction associated with the German occupation in World WarII. Besides this black and white absract painting, Pablo Picasso also featured these two colors in several of his works, including Guernica composition.
Zebra by Victor Vasarely
Victor Vasarely is one of the founding fathers of the optical illusion movement. He created numerous paintings in this category at the beginning of the movement. One of his most renowned compositions in the optical illusion category is Zebra.
This black and white painting was composed in 1937. It contains two zebras playfully inter-twinned in a somewhat embrace.
The artist used black and white patterns to stress the optical illusion application in the painting. The unique patterns of the zebra stripes represent the unusual shapes of nature. This 1965 black and white abstract painting was composed in 1965 using negative variation between the white background and black to portray the white sections of the stripes. This is among the most eminent paintings in this category of all time.
Horse Skull with White Rose by Georgia O’Keeffe
Georgia O’Keeffe features the skulls of horses or cattle in most of his iconic paintings. This element was regularly linked to the West American culture. Her application of this element results from the several months she stayed in the western region of the United States. During her stay in the deserts of New Mexico, Georgia created the Horse Skull with White Rose.
The composition takes a different approach to the nature of objects. He combines the two in a single composition, which is not common. The painting represents the thin line between life and death. The two colors also highlight the fragility of the nature of life. This is not one of O’Keeffe’s most renowned compositions but among the best common black and white paintings in the modern era.
Chief by Franz Kline
This is a black and white absract painting created in 1950. It is still considered amongst the most beautiful applications of these two colors. It is composed in a unique style unseen in other abstract works.
Unlike most black and white paintings, this painting does not take advantage of the color of the medium by leaving void spaces to represent one of the two. Instead, the painter used paint to create both black and white parts of the composition.
Final Word
Painting in black and white is not only a prevalent in past compositions. Artists and painters in the modern era also commonly use these colors for various representations in their artistic works. The two iconic colors will also continue being applied in compositions by artists across the globe. Painters and art lovers globally consider black and white compositions as some of the most memorable and remarkable works.
- A look into the black and white painting
- What black and white painting is all about
