Black and white
Save your search and find it in your favorites
Save your search to find it quickly
Saved search
Your search is accessible from the favorites tab > My favorite searches
Unsaved search
A problem occurred
Tourbillon Noir et Blanc
Kaouteur Souibgui
Painting - 73 x 52 x 2.5 cm Painting - 28.7 x 20.5 x 1 inch
€618
Grand Canyon in Sepia
Jarmila Kostliva
Photography - 96 x 62 x 0.2 cm Photography - 37.8 x 24.4 x 0.1 inch
€623
Pharrell Williams #4. Portrait intervened by the artists
Hunter & Gatti
Photography - 114.8 x 82.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 45.2 x 32.5 x 0.1 inch
€5,753
Mirage Ligérien I
Dominique Jullien
Photography - 13 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 5.1 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
€350
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
€1,300
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
€2,637
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
€650
Famille Barberini, Rome, 1986
Patrick Faigenbaum
Photography - 60.8 x 50.2 cm Photography - 23.9 x 19.8 inch
€1,500
Ayrton Senna concentrer. F1
Dominique Leroy
Photography - 90 x 60 x 1 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
€800
Ayrton Senna, Préparatif. Brésil F1
Dominique Leroy
Photography - 60 x 90 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 inch
€800
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
€6,140
Urbasa 18/03/2022 ((Identity Statements Series)
Imanol Marrodán
Photography - 40 x 109 x 0.2 cm Photography - 15.7 x 42.9 x 0.1 inch
€2,300
C627 - 26
Stephane Charpentier
Photography - 20 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0 inch
€900
B175 - 19
Stephane Charpentier
Photography - 20 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0 inch
€900
C1174 - 12
Stephane Charpentier
Photography - 20 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0 inch
€900
Abstraction urbaine #6
Guillaume Chevallard
Photography - 70 x 50 x 4 cm Photography - 27.6 x 19.7 x 1.6 inch
€1,200
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
€3,000
Pas de déviation
Bogdan Kotewicz
Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.03 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
€820
Le Trompettiste
Bogdan Kotewicz
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.03 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
€820
Structural Beauty
Alexander Benz
Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
€460
Boulangerie la Nuit
Lionel le Jeune
Photography - 50 x 75 x 0.5 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0.2 inch
€550
Une Place, photo primée Fisheye magazine, Rmn Grand Palais
Lionel le Jeune
Photography - 50 x 75 x 0.4 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0.2 inch
€950
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
€800
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
€650
MOON SHIN Portrait et Sculpture
John Craven né Conte
Photography - 90 x 60 x 0.5 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0.2 inch
€5,900 €2,950
La vie en transit
Gauthier Bouret
Photography - 50 x 75 x 1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0.4 inch
€750
Chroniques du Métro : Stalingrad
Gauthier Bouret
Photography - 50 x 75 x 1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0.4 inch
€750
Éphémère passage
Gauthier Bouret
Photography - 50 x 75 x 1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0.4 inch
€750
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
€750
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
€750
Notre Dame de Paris III
Gauthier Bouret
Photography - 75 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 29.5 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
€750
Notre Dame de Paris II
Gauthier Bouret
Photography - 50 x 75 x 1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0.4 inch
€750
Arrivée de l'American Circus
José Nicolas
Photography - 60 x 40 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 inch
€1,200
Palmeraie de Fay Largeau
José Nicolas
Photography - 52 x 84 x 1 cm Photography - 20.5 x 33.1 x 0.4 inch
€1,500
Western - Duel
Lionel le Jeune
Photography - 51.1 x 75 x 0.5 cm Photography - 20.1 x 29.5 x 0.2 inch
€950
Cheval au galop
Lionel le Jeune
Photography - 50 x 75 x 0.5 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0.2 inch
€950
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
€110
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
Sold
Lady Monster and Mr Walker
Martin Kallay
Photography - 75 x 50 cm Photography - 29.5 x 19.7 inch
€2,100
Pop Artists Portfolio
Ken Heyman
Photography - 29.2 x 35.6 x 1.3 cm Photography - 11.5 x 14 x 0.5 inch
€33,560
Skyline - Photographie argentique - Paris
Jules Gorce
Photography - 20 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0 inch
€600
Garde - Photographie argentique - Paris
Jules Gorce
Photography - 30 x 20 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0 inch
€500
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
€600
Patriote - Photographie argentique - Paris
Jules Gorce
Photography - 20 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0 inch
€500
BNFalaise - Photographie argentique - Paris
Jules Gorce
Photography - 20 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0 inch
€500
Untitled 25 (Hussein Chalayan)
Arslan Sükan
Photography - 50 x 75 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0 inch
€2,877
Untitled 71 (Alexander McQueen)
Arslan Sükan
Photography - 75 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 29.5 x 19.7 x 0 inch
€2,877
Untitled 31 (Paris)
Arslan Sükan
Photography - 50 x 75 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0 inch
€3,835
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
€3,835
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
€3,835
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
€3,835
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
€3,835
Untitled 21 (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
€3,835
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!