If you’ve ever heard advice to avoid black out of the tube when painting, this article is a good explainer for what that actually means in practice.
Below is a collection of art in which I think the black looks really great.
‘Absurd Alphabet’ illustrated by Walter Crane, 1874Eric Fraser, 1951The Brimful Book by Platt & MunkMenu created by Margaret Macdonald (Lighthouse, Glasgow) 1911An Arab Interior Arthur Melville 1881
BLACK WATER
The black of the water below is unexpected but hugely effective as a contrast against the yellows, greens and blues.
‘Garden-land’ by Robert W. Chambers. 1907. Illustrations by Harrison Cady
BLACK OF THE FOREST
I love that the forest below looks like colour laid upon black. The darkness of the forest ‘shines’ through.
Stories the Iroquois tell their children by Mabel Powers illustrated by W Fletcher White 1917
For the illustrations below, Harrison Cady uses flat blacks for the background line of trees, the foreground foliage and also on the characters’ clothing.
Thorton Burgess Animal Stories illustrated by Harrison Cady from 1942
James Whitcomb Riley (1849 – 1916) All the Year Round, 1912
THE BLACK OF LINOGRAVURE (LINOCUT)
Certain types of art will naturally result in more darkness in the finished work.
Vasily Kandinsky (1866, Russie – 1944, France), Le Miroir, 1907, linogravure, 322 x 158 mm. The British Museum
Earlier printing technologies also meant a limited colour palette, so illustrations from the 19th century tend towards blackness.
Franz Wacik, Austrian. Born 1883, died 1938
Piero Bernardini, 1941 Roger Duvoisin, 1944
BLACK IN ART NOUVEAU
Black is especially useful to Art Nouveau because a flat black negative space balances out all the ornamental decoration. We find a lot of flat black in artwork from the 1920s and 30s. (Art Nouveau lasted from roughly 1880 until just before World War I.) Walls, skies, floors, clothing, animals — the artist can use a flat black for pretty much anything, as the composition requires.
These artists all had a similar look:
Kay Nielsen
Ida Rentoul Outhwaite
Margaret Clark (Australian)
Virginia Frances Sterrett (American)
Marjorie Miller [Estes]
Dorothy Lathrop’s work feels like these artists only ‘for kids’
Adrienne Adams (American) also illustrated for kids but her black-heavy works retained more creepiness than Dorothy Lathrop’s
A Happy Family by Margaret Clark 1901-2001 circa 1929Woman’s World Magazine October 1933Tanglewood Tales, Greek mythology for kids, 1921 illustrated by Virginia Frances SterrettTanglewood Tales, Greek mythology for kids, 1921 illustrated by Virginia Frances SterrettTanglewood Tales, Greek mythology for kids, 1921 illustrated by Virginia Frances SterrettSt. Francis and Animals by Pauline Diana Baynes (1922 – 2008) for a card published by Christian Action, LondonVirginia Frances Sterrett (1900-1931) USA, Old French Fairy Tales c1920 by Sophie SégurVirginia Frances Sterrett (1900-1931) USA, Old French Fairy Tales c1920 by Sophie SégurVirginia Frances Sterrett (1900-1931) USA, Old French Fairy Tales c1920 by Sophie SégurVirginia Frances Sterrett (1900-1931) USA, Old French Fairy Tales c1920 by Sophie SégurVirginia Frances Sterrett (1900-1931) USA, Old French Fairy Tales c1920 by Sophie SégurVirginia Frances Sterrett (1900-1931) USA, Old French Fairy Tales c1920 by Sophie SégurVirginia Frances Sterrett (1900-1931) USA, Old French Fairy Tales c1920 by Sophie SégurVirginia Sterrett’s black and white illustrations for Old French Fairy Tales c1920 by Sophie SégurVirginia Sterrett’s black and white illustrations for Old French Fairy Tales c1920 by Sophie SégurVirginia Sterrett’s black and white illustrations for Old French Fairy Tales c1920 by Sophie SégurRosanie or The Inconstant prince, Kay Nielsen 1913Marjorie Miller [Estes] (1899 – 1995) 1931 Queen Of The Night illustrationDorothy Lathrop
Incidentally, here is a similar palette:
The First Aid Fairy by Margaret Clark 1901-2001Margaret Clark 1901-2001 Australian illustrator black
Ida Rentoul Outhwaite worked in both black and white and colour, and I think experience in black and white makes an illustrator especially good at tonal contrasts. She also made use of the flat black when creating her coloured fairy world illustrations.
Art by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite (1916) Fairy IslandsFairyland 1931 Ida Rentoul OuthwaiteFairyland 1931 Ida Rentoul OuthwaiteFairyland 1931 Ida Rentoul OuthwaiteFairyland 1931 Ida Rentoul OuthwaiteFairyland 1931 Ida Rentoul OuthwaiteDance of Winter and Gnomes Arthur Rackham, 1919
There are many black, starry skies in Art Nouveau and similar styles.
FABIANO, Fabien (Jules COUP de FRÉJAC, 1882-1962). ‘The Coquette’, “Shadowland”, Vol. 7, Nº 6, 1923Art Deco Illustration, Starstruck, by ErtéS.W. Reynolds — Vogue magazine — 1927Art by George Carlson (c 1919) from the book, BELGIAN FAIRY TALESEdmund Dulac (1882 – 1953), The Ice-Maiden, watercolour and gouache, frontispiece of The Dreamer of Dreams by Queen Marie of Romania, 1915, Hodder & Stoughton, London, New York and TorontoDescending the Stairs, J C Leyendecker, 1929Johnny GruelleDavid Palladini for the Aquarian Tarot
Black is perhaps not a colour you’d associate with Tove Jannsen, but she used it, all right.
Tove Jansson Sleeping in the Roots, 1930sThis illustration by Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) for ‘St. Nicholas an Illustrated Magazine for Young Folks’ includes a self-portrait in the lower left corner1923 Boys and Girls Of Book Land by Nora Archibald Smith Illustrated by Jesse Wilcox Smith Publisher David McKay CoKatie Country Mouse Goes to London by Philip Mendoza
BLACK OF THE DISNEY ARTISTS
Perhaps we don’t associate flat blacks with Disney animations, either. But look at the concept drawings of the Disney artists and the blacks pop.
Eyvind Earle (1916-2000) American artist, author and illustrator, noted for his contribution to the background illustration and styling of Disney animated films in the 1950sMary BlairElige Tu Mapa, Encuentra Tu Camino by Eyvind EarleConcept art for Disney c.1950s by Mary Blair The Little Mermaid
BLACK IN POSTER DESIGN
Jean d’Ylen, 1920sMario Broggi, 1922Achille Mauzan, c.1920Leonetto CappielloPoster Art Agriculture c. 1930-1936Poster for Fromme’s Calendar (1899) by Koloman Moser‘The Call of the Wild’ Cover by Roberto Lemmi, 1966Poster by Gian Rossetti, 1949 toothpaste advertisementPoster by Milton Glaser, 1977Leonetto Cappiello c 1910illustration-by-Ralph-Weir-1925-timeA Comet’s Journey, 1844 JJ Grandville 1844Kushida Mitsuhiro, poster for The Little Match Girl, 1967
Below, black is used to offset typography.
The Man Who Laughs Cover by L. Andreotti, 1907From Yellow Submarine (poster) Heinz Edelmann 1968Harry Richardson, 1920Henry Clive 1923Gert Sellheim, 1937Leopoldo Metlicovitz, 1918Poster by Boccasile, about 19501918, during the First World WarCharles Henry Malcolm Kerr The Visitor exhibited 1905
THE BLACK OF FOLK ART
Since folk art is so often either woodcut, linocut or made to look like that, it frequently black as a base.
Carlos Marchiori Illustrations for Edith Fowke – Sally Go Round The Sun 300 Songs, Rhymes and Games of Canadian Children (1969)Carlos Marchiori Illustrations for Edith Fowke – Sally Go Round The Sun 300 Songs, Rhymes and Games of Canadian Children (1969)Oskar Kokoschka, Sleeping Woman (Schlafende Frau)Davlov IpcarJohn Ross and Clare Romano Ross woodblock illustration for storybook ‘Manhattan Island’ 1957 written by May Garelickfrom The Fireside Book of Children’s Songs, illustrated by John Alcorn, compiled by Marie Winn and adapted by Allan Miller, published in 1966 by Simon & Schuster, New YorkCarlos Marchiori Illustrations for Edith Fowke – Sally Go Round The Sun 300 Songs, Rhymes and Games of Canadian Children (1969)Charles-Henry-Malcolm-Kerr-The-Visitor-exhibited-1905Yuri YasnetsovThe Cat At Night by Dahlov Ipcar coverillustration for Adventures of Giaconia (1964)Davlov IpcarDavlov IpcarBrian LarossaKathleen Lolley
FLAT BLACK ANIMALS
illustration from- Aus Haus und Hof, by Konrad Müller-FürerDorothy P Lathrop from the book The Three Mulla-Mulgars He felt a sudden darkness above his head, and a cold terror crept over his skinJacques (Lehmann) Nam, 1911-Illustration from Le Smile catDorothy P Lathrop from the book The Three Mulla-MulgarsBlacky Daw by Adelaide Palmer and illustrated by Dorothy Saunders, 1930
BLACK ROOFS
1957 illustration by William Dugan Songs We Sing, Little Golden Bookby Roger Duvoisin (1900-1980) 1951Jan Pienkowski. 1975, Haunted House
BLACK IN NAIVE ART
Adrienne AdamsCaveman Dave Nick SharrattSEASONS (1969) John BurninghamMichael McCurdyAdrienne AdamsAdrienne Adams
Header: LES MÉTAMORPHOSES D’ALADIN OU COMMENT IL FUT PASSÉ AU CAVIAR (1912, 2006) Lucien Laforge and Jean-François Martin
