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Femme Karo et son enfant. Ethiopie
Dominique Leroy
Photography - 90 x 70 x 2 cm Photography - 35.4 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,470
Untitled XVIII. From the series Chiromorphose.
Nico Baixas / Gos-com-fuig
Photography - 99.8 x 99.8 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39.3 x 39.3 x 0.1 inch
$2,750
memories of the last winter
Elena Raceala
Photography - 200.7 x 133.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 79 x 52.5 x 0.1 inch
$735
Famille Barberini, Rome, 1986
Patrick Faigenbaum
Photography - 60.8 x 50.2 cm Photography - 23.9 x 19.8 inch
$1,696
Ayrton Senna concentrer. F1
Dominique Leroy
Photography - 90 x 60 x 1 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
$905
Ayrton Senna, Préparatif. Brésil F1
Dominique Leroy
Photography - 60 x 90 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 inch
$905
Fluidity of a woman I
Katya Taneva
Photography - 150 x 100 x 0.2 cm Photography - 59.1 x 39.4 x 0.1 inch
$6,944
Le bois du cerf
Edouard Mazaré
Photography - 83 x 113 x 0.2 cm Photography - 32.7 x 44.5 x 0.1 inch
$2,488
C627 - 26
Stephane Charpentier
Photography - 20 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$1,018
B175 - 19
Stephane Charpentier
Photography - 20 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$1,018
C1174 - 12
Stephane Charpentier
Photography - 20 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$1,018
Abstraction urbaine #6
Guillaume Chevallard
Photography - 70 x 50 x 4 cm Photography - 27.6 x 19.7 x 1.6 inch
$1,357
La Densité du regard. Ayrton Senna
Dominique Leroy
Photography - 90 x 60 x 2 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,583
06 - 16 - 1961 - A-B-C
Pierre-Emmanuel Chatiliez
Print - 200 x 220 x 1 cm Print - 78.7 x 86.6 x 0.4 inch
$3,393
Structural Beauty
Alexander Benz
Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$520
Twiggy and John Steed (Patrick Macnee)
David Steen
Photography - 137 x 100 x 0.01 cm Photography - 53.9 x 39.4 x 0 inch
$4,806
Untitled Morocco 77
Ziad Naitaddi
Photography - 30 x 45 x 2 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,244
Untitled Morocco 78
Ziad Naitaddi
Photography - 45 x 30 x 2 cm Photography - 17.7 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
$1,244
Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii, Roger Waters
Jacques Boumendil
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$905
Nick Mason, Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii
Jacques Boumendil
Photography - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$735
Pop Artists Portfolio
Ken Heyman
Photography - 29.2 x 35.6 x 1.3 cm Photography - 11.5 x 14 x 0.5 inch
$35,000
La vie en transit
Gauthier Bouret
Photography - 50 x 75 x 1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0.4 inch
$848
Chroniques du Métro : Stalingrad
Gauthier Bouret
Photography - 50 x 75 x 1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0.4 inch
$848
Éphémère passage
Gauthier Bouret
Photography - 50 x 75 x 1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0.4 inch
$848
Harmonie monochrome : Le Pont des Arts V
Gauthier Bouret
Photography - 50 x 75 x 1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0.4 inch
$848
Williamsburg: Monochrome of the urban soul II
Gauthier Bouret
Photography - 50 x 75 x 1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0.4 inch
$848
Notre Dame de Paris III
Gauthier Bouret
Photography - 75 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 29.5 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
$848
Notre Dame de Paris II
Gauthier Bouret
Photography - 50 x 75 x 1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0.4 inch
$848
Nous sommes tous des enfants
Jean Valera
Photography - 20 x 30 x 0.3 cm Photography - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0.1 inch
$124
Nous sommes tous des enfants
Jean Valera
Photography - 20 x 30 x 0.3 cm Photography - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0.1 inch
$124
Untitled 25 (Hussein Chalayan)
Arslan Sükan
Photography - 50 x 75 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0 inch
$3,000
Untitled 71 (Alexander McQueen)
Arslan Sükan
Photography - 75 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 29.5 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$3,000
Untitled 31 (Paris)
Arslan Sükan
Photography - 50 x 75 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0 inch
$4,000
Untitled 27 (Paris), From the series La Notte, Medium
Arslan Sükan
Photography - 50 x 75 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0 inch
$4,000
Untitled 25 (Paris), From the series La Notte, Medium
Arslan Sükan
Photography - 50 x 75 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0 inch
$4,000
Untitled 23 (Paris), From the series La Notte, Medium
Arslan Sükan
Photography - 50 x 75 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0 inch
$4,000
Untitled 22 (Paris), From the series La Notte, Medium
Arslan Sükan
Photography - 50 x 75 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0 inch
$4,000
Untitled 20 (Paris), From the series La Notte, Medium
Arslan Sükan
Photography - 50 x 75 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0 inch
$4,000
Untitled 18 (Paris), From the series La Notte, Medium
Arslan Sükan
Photography - 75 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 29.5 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$4,000
Untitled 17 (Paris), From the series La Notte, Medium
Arslan Sükan
Photography - 75 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 29.5 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$4,000
Untitled 16 (Paris), From the series La Notte, Medium
Arslan Sükan
Photography - 75 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 29.5 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$4,000
Untitled 13 (Paris), From the series La Notte, Medium
Arslan Sükan
Photography - 75 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 29.5 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$4,000
Untitled 12 (Paris), From the series La Notte, Medium
Arslan Sükan
Photography - 50 x 75 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0 inch
$4,000
Untitled 10 (Paris), From the series La Notte, Medium
Arslan Sükan
Photography - 50 x 75 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0 inch
$4,000
Untitled 9 (Paris), From the series La Notte, Medium
Arslan Sükan
Photography - 50 x 75 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0 inch
$4,000
Lady Monster and Mr Walker
Martin Kallay
Photography - 75 x 50 cm Photography - 29.5 x 19.7 inch
$2,375
Dijon, the shadow
Fabien Olart
Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$565
Skyline - Photographie argentique - Paris
Jules Gorce
Photography - 20 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$679
Garde - Photographie argentique - Paris
Jules Gorce
Photography - 30 x 20 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0 inch
$565
Bout Du Monde - Photographie argentique - La Rochelle
Jules Gorce
Photography - 20 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$679
Patriote - Photographie argentique - Paris
Jules Gorce
Photography - 20 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$565
BNFalaise - Photographie argentique - Paris
Jules Gorce
Photography - 20 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$565
2153
Salvatore Arnone
Photography - 89.9 x 69.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 35.4 x 27.5 x 0.1 inch
$2,390
1915 Thaddée NATANSON
Eugène Druet
Photography - 43 x 54 x 0.5 cm Photography - 16.9 x 21.3 x 0.2 inch
$2,771
Femme à la guitare / Lady with guitar
Eugène Druet
Photography - 43 x 54 x 0.5 cm Photography - 16.9 x 21.3 x 0.2 inch
$2,771
1915 Thaddée NATANSON
Eugène Druet
Photography - 54 x 43 x 0.5 cm Photography - 21.3 x 16.9 x 0.2 inch
$3,902
1915 Gabrielle VALLOTTON
Eugène Druet
Photography - 43 x 54 x 0.5 cm Photography - 16.9 x 21.3 x 0.2 inch
$3,902
1915 Vallotton Bonnard Vuillard K.X.Roussel
Eugène Druet
Photography - 43 x 54 x 0.5 cm Photography - 16.9 x 21.3 x 0.2 inch
$5,032
1915 PORTRAIT Josse et Gaston BERNHEIM
Eugène Druet
Photography - 43 x 54 x 0.5 cm Photography - 16.9 x 21.3 x 0.2 inch
$5,032
1915 Félix JASINSKY
Eugène Druet
Photography - 54 x 43 x 0.5 cm Photography - 21.3 x 16.9 x 0.2 inch
$2,771
1915 Art collector Gertrude STEIN PORTRAIT
Eugène Druet
Photography - 54 x 43 cm Photography - 21.3 x 16.9 inch
$5,598
Back lighting. Green
Dora Franco
Photography - 76.2 x 101.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 inch
$2,500
Black and white
Before the arrival of photography – with the exception of some etchings and lithographs – all the images we consumed were in colour. Quite simply, because no one would ever have thought to do anything else – why paint in black and white when colour was so readily available?
Yet despite this, today many photographers still choose to work in black and white – such as Pauline Théon, Kadir Von Lohuizen or Joh Lowenstein – even though their photos are taken in colour by the camera itself. Is the black and white trend a fleeting effect of fashion, or a symbolic return to the roots of the photography movement? Black and white photography has something that colour photos, despite recent innovations and the extraordinary quality of images today, cannot quite access. The use of black and white lends significant force to the composition: the contrasts, the shadows and the figures all stand out more strongly. People simply feel differently when faced with a colour photo versus a black and white image.
Colour is a distraction of sorts, a disturbance: colour is a nuisance.
And yet, some photographers still prefer colour to black and white, whilst others merge touches of colour with otherwise monochrome compositions. But in the end, all agree that both styles impose a totally different way of looking at a photo: from researching the shot to post production work, when artists develop or retouch the image. The use of colour is therefore something of a process in its own right, relating to two different ways of viewing the world and showing it others. The question, then, is what is being told, and why is it being in the way that it is?
The symbolic value of putting black and white together is a good starting point for reflecting on the fascination that they generate even today. There could not be a more fascinating, more striking ambivalence than when black, the 'colour' of darkness and burnt coal, considered a non-colour, is placed alongside white – representing light, and the result of all the colours merged together.
The problem faced by photographers today is that black and white still carry strong connotations of the past, of an era before the popularisation of colour and its massive cultural recovery amongst the press and photo journalists. In fact, it is rare now that contemporary subjects are photographed in colour, but we still associate black and white images with a retro feel.
So what does contemporary art have to say about it all? Discover Artsper's selection of black and white works: on the border of past and present, of the real and the imaginary… let us guide you!