Black: a colour of infinite meanings
Black is one of the most fascinating and versatile colours, rich in meaning and with a long history that intertwines with the evolution of culture and science, and has acquired countless symbolic interpretations. Black represents darkness, lifelessness, hopelessness, and evil. In short, it seems to carry only negative connotations. However, it is also the colour of spirituality and meditation, and its ‘lifelessness’ makes it immune to the passions and temptations of earthly existence. It also conveys austerity and elegance, seriousness and power, which is why it is often used in formal and professional settings.
A touch of science
From a scientific point of view, black is not a colour in the traditional sense, but rather the absence of reflected light. When an object absorbs all the wavelengths of visible light, it appears black to our eyes. This property clearly distinguishes it from colours that, on the contrary, reflect specific portions of the light spectrum, making black the opposite of white, which results from the reflection of all the wavelengths.
A long history
Black in ancient history
In cave paintings, made with charcoal-based pigments, black is one of the first colours used, alongside white and red.
At the beginning of its history, the colour black did not yet carry meanings related to evil forces. Instead, it was associated with the earth and its fertile dimension. Since the Neolithic period, black stones were used during funerary rites, as a good omen, ensuring the passage to the afterlife and the promise of rebirth.
In Ancient Egypt, black was also associated with fertility and rebirth, as it was linked to the silt of the Nile, which fertilised the fields. "The black" was also an epithet of the god Osiris, the ruler of the underworld. Egyptian priests wore black garments to represent their connection with the divine and the world of the afterlife.
In Ancient Greece, black was regularly associated with death. The realm of Hades, god of the underworld, had black gates, rivers and trees, and in the world of the living, those taking part in funeral rites often wore black garments.
It was the Romans who codified the connection between black clothing and mourning.
Middle Ages and Renaissance: black between demonisation and nobility
In medieval heraldry, black — the colour of Saturn and associated with the diamond — symbolises mourning.
During the Middle Ages, black garments were worn during Lent to express to others a desire for spiritual reflection and renunciation of earthly pleasures. In monastic dress — such as that of the Benedictine order — black represented temperance and humility.
After the year 1000, during the feudal era, the ‘black-evil’ association began to prevail in Europe, and black became — and remained for many centuries — the colour of the Devil.
With the end of the Middle Ages, although the infernal black did not disappear entirely, it was re-evaluated in many contexts and started to be seen as a respectable, fashionable, and even luxurious colour.
Indeed, until that time, producing a deep, rich, and lasting black dye had been very difficult and expensive. Black fabrics tended to look dull and faded, and were therefore worn mainly by the lower classes, while the ruling classes dressed in bright, vibrant colours.
Already by the late 13th century, and in the early decades of the 14th, certain environments — such as legal professionals, magistrates, and members of sovereign courts — began to show a growing interest in the colour black. To those within such environments, as well as to various monastic and religious orders, black was not infernal, but rather austere and virtuous. As a result, individuals holding public office or official roles began to dress in black. Gradually, university professors followed their example, adopting black as a sign of civic morality. After the mid-14th century, merchants, bankers, and all those involved in finance also began to wear black.
The growing demand for black fabrics encouraged dyers to improve their techniques in order to produce textiles with a deep, intense, and lasting black.
As the quality of dyes improved — and as they could now be applied to fine fabrics — black became fashionable at court, first in Italy and, by the end of the century, across Europe. The turning point for the definitive establishment of luxurious black came with Philip the Good (1396–1467), Duke of Burgundy. After his father was assassinated by the French, he chose to wear black for the rest of his life. On the refined and richly adorned garments of the Duke, black became a symbol of social distinction and soon influenced the rest of the European aristocracy.
In the Italian Renaissance, black was used to create striking visual effects — as in the fabulous black-and-gold striped gown worn by Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Milan.
The role of black was quite different in Protestant moral thinking. According to the Reformation, clothing was meant to remind humankind of its misery. It had to express humility and be simple, discreet, austere, and free of ornaments. The use of dark clothing, recommended by the great reformers, made black the most common colour in men’s fashion from the 15th to the 19th century.
Thus, black came to embody different ideological meanings across Europe: in Catholic courts it was a mark of aristocratic distinction, while in Protestant countries it became the colour of the bourgeoisie.
The Modern Era: black within witch hunts and scientific discoveries
In the 17th century, at least in certain environments, there seems to be a return to vibrant colours. For example, at the court of Louis XIV, at least until Madame de Maintenon, the king's morganatic wife, began dressing in black and white to restore morality to life at Versailles. Similarly, in Rome, where the popes funded great artists to adorn the churches, because "nothing is too beautiful for the house of the Lord," Baroque art flourished at its peak.
But, with few exceptions, black dominates the daily life of Europeans: plague, misery, and death are everywhere. Every good Christian, Protestant or Catholic, must wear black and avoid bright colours and flashy ornaments, even at home. It is during this period that the practice of draping homes with dark cloths spreads, and black definitively becomes the colour of mourning.
Moreover, with the rise of religious intolerance and the intensification of the witch hunts, the association between black and its darker meanings, linked to the Devil and evil, is further strengthened.
By the late 17th century, with the studies of various scientists and especially with Newton's discovery of the solar light spectrum, conventionally divided into seven colours, both white and especially black were removed from any chromatic system and were no longer considered colours.
The increased focus on colours, prompted by scientific discoveries in the 18th century, caused black to take a step back in favour of lighter and more vibrant colours, or other dark colours such as blue. This was a general trend that spread across fashion, art, and even interior design, particularly in France, which for several decades became the land of bright colours, with Paris as the most elegant city.
Even pigs on farms, which had previously been black, began to lighten and turn pink through crossbreeding with Asian breeds.
Black remained predominant only in Spain, Northern Europe, and Italy. For example, in 18th-century Venice, black was found in the Bautta, the queen of Venetian masks, which was worn even outside the Carnival season: it ensured anonymity and conveyed a sense of mystery, which often proved to be a weapon of seduction.
Towards the 19th century: the black of Gothic Romanticism and the Second Industrial Revolution
From the second half of the 18th century, English "Gothic" novels established a taste for the macabre, which intensified at the turn of the 19th century, and with it, black made its grand return. It marked the triumph of night and death, witches and cemeteries, the extraordinary and the fantastic.
The Romantic hero, who a few decades earlier sought communion with nature and dreamt of beauty and infinite, favouring colours like blue or green, now became an unstable and anguished character who believes he is marked by fate and feels drawn to death. A sense of melancholy dominated everywhere, which for 19th-century poets became an obligatory condition, almost a virtue.
Esotericism and spiritualism were all the rage. On stage, Shakespeare is rediscovered, and some of his characters became icons. Hamlet is considered a Romantic hero, and his black attire became an outfit that aligned more with the sensitivities of the time, compared to the blue outfit of the young Werther, which had been popular a few decades earlier.
Black became the dominant colour in men's clothing, both in the elegant attire of dandies, made fashionable by Lord Brummell, and in that of more modest men.
After the French Revolution, the image of the man in society changed. Even those who continued to operate in elitist environments now derived their prestige from an active life, from professional engagements. Emphasis is placed on those aspects that could convey credibility, trust, and a sense of security. All of this converged into an austere image, free from frivolities and, therefore, free from colours that are anything other than neutral and discreet.
By the mid-19th century, black became ubiquitous in the daily life of common people. It marked the beginning of the Second Industrial Revolution, powered by coal, which brought with it smoke, soot, and pollution. Black was now everywhere, as smoke settled on buildings, objects, and even people in all industrial cities.
The black suit in men's clothing, in offices, and in the business world became almost a uniform. The work ethic, derived from Protestantism, prohibited colours that were too bright or showy and considered black the only sign of seriousness and authority. Even policemen, gendarmes, firefighters, customs officers, etc., wore black uniforms (which would later turn blue in the 20th century).
Although industrial chemistry had already made it possible to produce any colour, when mass-produced goods began to appear, they were often black, grey, or very dark colours. This was because the companies producing mass-consumed products were owned by wealthy Protestant families who imposed their values and principles.
The 20th Century: black becomes the colour of fashion
On the eve of World War I, it was primarily designers, stylists, and tailors who ensured that black had a strong presence in daily life: it was no longer the princely black of past centuries, nor the dirty and miserable black of the great industrial cities; it was a black that was both sober and refined, elegant and functional. In the fashion world, several tailors, such as Jacques Doucet and Paul Poiret, chose black as their preferred colour.
Throughout the first half of the 20th century, black captivated most designers: ‘la petite robe noire’, the little black dress created by Coco Chanel, is an example, but the black woman’s suit, produced by all fashion houses from the 1930s onwards, competes with it and remains fashionable at least until the 1960s as a symbol of discreet and practical elegance. According to Christian Dior, black is the most popular, practical, and elegant colour of all. He claims that black can be worn at any time and at any age.
Black in the contemporary world
Today, despite the largely negative connotations that have accumulated over the centuries, black is still very popular and remains a constant presence in fashion collections, even when other colours seem to take centre stage. This is partly because many superstitions surrounding colours have been overcome in the modern world, and partly because black is a tone on which any colour, even the faintest, appears strong and precise; even the most ordinary person or outfit, when paired with black, gains character and personality.
However, it retains the ambivalence that has characterised its history: it is the colour of elegance and luxury, both in fashion and design, of sobriety and discipline, but it is also the colour of protest and rebellion.
Black is the little black dress, a timeless fashion classic, a symbol of elegance and restraint, but also the t-shirt of metalheads. Two very different worlds, united by one colour: black.
Interesting facts about the colour black
- The blackest black in the world: in 2014, Surrey NanoSystems created Vantablack, a substance capable of absorbing 99.965% of visible light, making it appear incredibly black.
- In nature, black is a relatively rare colour, but there are notable examples. The raven, the black panther, and the famous "black hole" in space are instances where black is associated with grandeur and mystery.
- The black cat is an ambiguous and fascinating symbol, sometimes considered sacred, as in ancient Egypt, and at other times satanic, an ally of witches and the devil. Even today, in certain European regions, a black cat is considered a good omen: a stray black cat at the door signals incoming money, and if it crosses your path, you should make a wish. On the other hand, in the Mediterranean and America, for the superstitious, a black cat crossing your path is definitely a bad omen.
- Until the end of the 18th century, one of the most valuable blacks was "mummy brown", a powder prepared in pharmacies and sold at a very high price, made by grinding real Egyptian mummies, taken from along the banks of the Nile and smuggled into Europe.
In conclusion, black plays a fundamental role in our visual perception and collective imagination. On one hand, it evokes darkness and mourning, while on the other, it symbolizes spirituality, elegance, power, and refinement. Whether in art, fashion, or nature, black continues to hold an timeless allure, capable of evoking deep emotions and meanings.
The history of colours is both fascinating and complex, involving many aspects of human life and history. Here, I chose to focus mainly on the historical and social aspects related to clothing. Moreover, aside from a few brief references, it is a partial perspective, limited to Western culture — particularly European — which I know best and for which it is easier for me to find documentation.
Read the others articles about the history of colours: