Editing Black (section)

===Modern===

====16th and 17th centuries====
[[File:Black cat eyes.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|[[Black cat]]s have been accused for centuries of being the [[familiar spirit]]s of witches or of bringing bad luck.]]
While black was the color worn by the Catholic rulers of Europe, it was also the emblematic color of the Protestant Reformation in Europe and the Puritans in England and America. [[John Calvin]], [[Philip Melanchthon]] and other Protestant theologians denounced the richly colored and decorated interiors of Roman Catholic churches. They saw the color red, worn by the pope and his cardinals, as the color of luxury, sin, and human folly.<ref>Michel Pastoureau, ''Noir – Histoire d'une couleur'', pp.&nbsp;146–47.</ref> In some northern European cities, mobs attacked churches and cathedrals, smashed the stained glass windows and defaced the statues and decoration. In Protestant doctrine, clothing was required to be sober, simple and discreet. Bright colors were banished and replaced by blacks, browns and grays; women and children were recommended to wear white.<ref>Michel Pastoureau, ''Noir – Histoire d'une couleur'', pp.&nbsp;152–53.</ref>

In the Protestant Netherlands, [[Rembrandt]] used this sober new palette of blacks and browns to create portraits whose faces emerged from the shadows expressing the deepest human emotions. The Catholic painters of the Counter-Reformation, like [[Rubens]], went in the opposite direction; they filled their paintings with bright and rich colors. The new [[Baroque]] churches of the [[Counter-Reformation]] were usually shining white inside and filled with statues, frescoes, marble, gold and colorful paintings, to appeal to the public. But European Catholics of all classes, like Protestants, eventually adopted a sober wardrobe that was mostly black, brown and gray.<ref>Michel Pastoureau, ''Noir – Histoire d'une couleur'', pp.&nbsp;150–51</ref>

<gallery widths="160" heights="180" class="center">
File:Increase Mather.jpg|[[Increase Mather]], an American Puritan clergyman (1688).
File:Rembrandt van Rijn - Self-Portrait - Google Art Project.jpg|[[Rembrandt]], ''Self-portrait'' (1659)
File:Portrait of John, Duke of Braganza c. 1630 (The Royal Castle in Warsaw).png|John, Duke of Braganza, later King [[John IV of Portugal]] (1628)
File:Infantry Armor MET DP277181.jpg|Black painted suit of German armor crafted circa 1600.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/22279?&searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&ft=infantry&offset=0&rpp=80&pos=5 |title=Infantry Armor &#124; German, Nuremberg &#124; the Met |access-date=10 January 2021 |archive-date=6 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806222006/https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/22279?&searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&ft=infantry&offset=0&rpp=80&pos=5 |url-status=live }}</ref>
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[[File:Matthewhopkins.png|thumb|upright=0.8|An English manual on witch-hunting (1647), showing a witch with her [[familiar spirit]]s]]
In the second part of the 17th century, Europe and America experienced an epidemic of fear of [[witchcraft]].  People widely believed that the devil appeared at midnight in a ceremony called a [[Black Mass]] or black sabbath, usually in the form of a black animal, often a goat, a dog, a wolf, a bear, a deer or a rooster, accompanied by their [[familiar spirit]]s, black cats, serpents and other black creatures. This was the origin of the widespread superstition about black cats and other black animals. In medieval [[Flanders]], in a ceremony called ''Kattenstoet,'' black cats were thrown from the belfry of the Cloth Hall of [[Ypres]] to ward off witchcraft.<ref>Stefano Zuffi, ''Color in Art'', p. 279.</ref>

Witch trials were common in both Europe and America during this period. During the notorious [[Salem witch trials]] in New England in 1692–93, one of those on trial was accused of being able turn into a "black thing with a blue cap,"  and others of having familiars in the form of a black dog, a black cat and a black bird.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SALEM.HTM|title=The Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692|first=Prof.|last=Linder|access-date=30 December 2016|archive-date=18 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161218225227/http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/salem.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Nineteen women and men were hanged as witches.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/speccol/calef/calef.html |title=More Wonders of the Invisible World |publisher=Salem.lib.virginia.edu |date=14 February 2006 |access-date=7 November 2012 |archive-date=7 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120907003044/http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/speccol/calef/calef.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

====18th and 19th centuries====
In the 18th century, during the European [[Age of Enlightenment]], black receded as a fashion color. Paris became the fashion capital, and pastels, blues, greens, yellow and white became the colors of the nobility and upper classes. But after the [[French Revolution]], black again became the dominant color. Black was the color of the industrial revolution, largely fueled by coal, and later by oil. Thanks to coal [[smoke]], the buildings of the large cities of Europe and America gradually turned [[black carbon|black]].  By 1846 the industrial area of the West Midlands of England was "commonly called 'the [[Black Country]]'".<ref>{{cite news|first=Chris|last=Upton|title=And so it came to pass...|url=http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/lifestyle/came-pass-3920518|newspaper=Birmingham Post|date=18 November 2011|access-date=29 February 2016|archive-date=3 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203073139/http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/lifestyle/came-pass-3920518|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Charles Dickens]] and other writers described the dark streets and smoky skies of London, and they were vividly illustrated in the [[wood-engraving]]s of French artist [[Gustave Doré]].

[[File:George-Henry-Boughton-Pilgrims-Going-To-Church.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|''American Pilgrims in New England going to church'', [[George Henry Boughton]], 1867]]
A different kind of black was an important part of the [[romantic movement]] in literature. Black was the color of [[Melancholia|melancholy]], the dominant theme of romanticism. The novels of the period were filled with castles, ruins, dungeons, storms, and meetings at midnight. The leading poets of the movement were usually portrayed dressed in black, usually with a white shirt and open collar, and a scarf carelessly over their shoulder, [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]] and Lord Byron helped create the enduring stereotype of the romantic poet.

[[File:Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) - Wheat Field with Crows (1890).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2| ''Wheat Field with Crows'' (1890), one of [[Vincent van Gogh]]'s last paintings]]
The invention of inexpensive synthetic black dyes and the industrialization of the textile industry meant that high-quality black clothes were available for the first time to the general population. In the 19th century black gradually became the most popular color of business dress of the upper and middle classes in England, the Continent, and America. Black dominated literature and fashion in the 19th century, and played a large role in painting. [[James McNeill Whistler]] made the color the subject of his most famous painting, ''Arrangement in grey and black number one''  (1871), better known as ''[[Whistler's Mother]]''.<ref>McNeill, James Abbott. "[https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/search/commentaire/commentaire_id/portrait-of-the-artists-mother-2976.html?no_cache=1&cHash=b4a2bc9d88 Whistler Portrait of the Artist's Mother] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021195130/https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/search/commentaire/commentaire_id/portrait-of-the-artists-mother-2976.html?no_cache=1&cHash=b4a2bc9d88 |date=21 October 2020 }}". [[Musee d'Orsay]]. Retrieved 18 October 2020</ref>

Some 19th-century French painters had a low opinion of black: "Reject black," [[Paul Gauguin]] said, "and that mix of black and white they call gray. Nothing is black, nothing is gray."<ref>Paul Gauguin, ''Oviri.  Écrits d'un sauvage''. Textes choisis (1892–1903). Editions D. Guerin, Paris, 1974, p. 123.</ref> But [[Édouard Manet]] used blacks for their strength and dramatic effect. Manet's portrait of painter [[Berthe Morisot]] was a study in black which perfectly captured her spirit of independence. The black gave the painting power and immediacy; he even changed her eyes, which were green, to black to strengthen the effect.<ref>Steffano Zuffi, ''Color in Art'', p. 302.</ref> [[Henri Matisse]] quoted the French impressionist [[Pissarro]] telling him, "Manet is stronger than us all – he made light with black."<ref>Jack Flam, ''Matisse on Art'', p. 175.</ref>

[[Pierre-Auguste Renoir]] used luminous blacks, especially in his portraits. When someone told him that black was not a color, Renoir replied: "What makes you think that? Black is the queen of colors. I always detested Prussian blue. I tried to replace black with a mixture of red and blue, I tried using cobalt blue or ultramarine, but I always came back to ivory black."<ref>Eva Heller, ''Psychologie de la couleur – effets et symboliques'', p. 107.</ref>

[[Vincent van Gogh]] used black lines to outline many of the objects in his paintings, such as the bed in the famous painting of his bedroom. making them stand apart. His painting of black crows over a cornfield, painted shortly before he died, was particularly agitated and haunting. In the late 19th century, black also became the color of [[anarchism]]. (See the section [[#Political movements|political movements]].)

<gallery widths="180" heights="180" class="center">
File:Carneiro e Gaspar, J. Courtois - Imperatriz Teresa Cristina.jpg|Portrait of Empress [[Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies|Teresa Cristina of Brazil]] (circa 1870)
File:Whistlers Mother high res.jpg|''Arrangement in Grey and Black Number 1'' (1871) by [[James McNeill Whistler]] better known as ''[[Whistler's Mother]]''.
File:Edouard Manet - Berthe Morisot With a Bouquet of Violets - Google Art Project.jpg|''[[Berthe Morisot with a Bouquet of Violets]]'', by [[Édouard Manet]] (1872).
File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir 023.jpg|''[[La Loge|The Theater Box]]'' (1874) by [[Pierre-Auguste Renoir]], captured the luminosity of black fabric in the light.
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====20th and 21st centuries====
In the 20th century, black was utilised by Italian and German [[fascism]].  (See the section [[#Political movements|political movements]]). In art, the colour regained some of the territory that it had lost during the 19th century. The Russian painter [[Kasimir Malevich]], a member of the [[Suprematist]] movement, created the ''[[Black Square (painting)|Black Square]]'' in 1915, is widely considered the first purely abstract painting.{{sfn|St. Clair|2016|p=263}} He wrote, "The painted work is no longer simply the imitation of reality, but is this very reality&nbsp;... It is not a demonstration of ability, but the materialization of an idea."<ref>Cited in Stefano Zuffi, ''Color in Art'', p. 306.</ref>

Black was appreciated by [[Henri Matisse]]. "When I didn't know what color to put down, I put down black," he said in 1945. "Black is a force: I used black as ballast to simplify the construction&nbsp;... Since the impressionists it seems to have made continuous progress, taking a more and more important part in color orchestration, comparable to that of the double bass as a solo instrument."<ref>Jack Flam, ''Matisse on Art'', p. 166.</ref>

In the 1950s, black came to be a symbol of individuality and intellectual and social rebellion, the color of those who did not accept established norms and values. In Paris, it was worn by Left-Bank intellectuals and performers such as [[Juliette Gréco]], and by some members of the [[Beat Movement]] in New York and San Francisco.<ref name="Eva Heller pg 120">Eva Heller, ''Psychologie de la Couleur – effets et symboliques'', p. 120.</ref> Black leather jackets were worn by motorcycle gangs such as the [[Hells Angels]] and street gangs on the fringes of society in the United States. Black as a color of rebellion was celebrated in such films as ''[[The Wild One]]'', with [[Marlon Brando]]. By the end of the 20th century, black was the emblematic color of [[punk fashion]] and the [[goth subculture]]. Goth fashion, which emerged in England in the 1980s, was inspired by [[Victorian era]] mourning dress.

In men's fashion, black gradually ceded its dominance to navy blue, particularly in business suits. Black evening dress and formal dress in general were worn less and less. In 1960, [[John F. Kennedy]] was the last American President to be inaugurated wearing formal dress; [[Lyndon Johnson]] and his successors were inaugurated wearing business suits.

Women's fashion was revolutionized and simplified in 1926 by the French designer [[Coco Chanel]], who published a drawing of a simple black dress in ''Vogue'' magazine. She famously said, "A woman needs just three things; a black dress, a black sweater, and, on her arm, a man she loves."<ref name="Eva Heller pg 120"/> French designer [[Jean Patou]] also followed suit by creating a black collection in 1929.<ref>The Palm Beach Post, 24 December 1929 – pictures and caption  [https://www.newspapers.com/image/?spot=8751014&fcfToken=524f6e6c6364666b597579496447716846416d6b37783633634453626d65756671567636512b594b494c4d6f3166366b7052544c56333979374d344250754946 'That's the black art of being Chic'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190210044402/https://www.newspapers.com/image/?spot=8751014&fcfToken=524f6e6c6364666b597579496447716846416d6b37783633634453626d65756671567636512b594b494c4d6f3166366b7052544c56333979374d344250754946 |date=10 February 2019 }}</ref> Other designers contributed to the trend of the [[little black dress]]. The Italian designer [[Gianni Versace]] said, "Black is the quintessence of simplicity and elegance," and French designer [[Yves Saint Laurent (designer)|Yves Saint Laurent]] said, "black is the liaison which connects art and fashion.<ref name="Eva Heller pg 120"/> One of the most famous black dresses of the century was designed by [[Hubert de Givenchy]] and was worn by [[Audrey Hepburn]] in the 1961 film ''[[Breakfast at Tiffany's (film)|Breakfast at Tiffany's]]''.

The American [[civil rights movement]] in the 1950s was a struggle for the political equality of [[African Americans]]. It developed into the [[Black Power movement]] in the early 1960s until the late 1980s, and the [[Black Lives Matter]] movement in the 2010s and 2020s. It also popularized the slogan "[[Black is Beautiful]]".

<gallery widths="160" heights="180" class="center">
File:Kazimir Malevich, 1915, Black Suprematic Square, oil on linen canvas, 79.5 x 79.5 cm, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.jpg|''[[Black Square]]'', [[Kazimir Malevich]], 1915
File:Constantin Pascali - Regina Maria.jpg|Queen [[Marie of Romania]], Constantin Pascali, early 1920s
File:Lady Amaranth.jpg|The 21st-century [[goth fashion]] model Lady Amaranth, in a style inspired by British [[Victorian fashion|Victorian mourning costumes]]
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