Black
The word black comes from Old English blæc, which meant both dark and ink. This term traces back to Proto-Germanic blakkaz, meaning burned. The root extends further to Proto-Indo-European bhleg-, describing burning or shining. Ancient Greeks used the same word for different colors if they shared similar intensity. Kuanos could mean both dark blue and black. Roman writers distinguished between ater, a flat dull black, and niger, a brilliant saturated black. Ater has vanished from modern vocabulary, but niger gave us the name Nigeria. The country was named after the river Niger mentioned in the 1520s by Leo Africanus. He likely altered a local Tuareg name based on the Latin word for black. Old High German had swartz for dull black and blach for luminous black. These terms survive today as swarthy and black respectively. In heraldry, the color is called sable, named after the black fur of an animal.
Black was one of the first colors used by artists in Neolithic cave paintings. The Lascaux Cave in France contains drawings of bulls and other animals created between 18,000 and 17,000 years ago. Paleolithic artists began using charcoal to create their lines. They later achieved darker pigments by burning bones or grinding manganese oxide powder. Vine black was produced in Roman times by burning cut branches of grapevines. It could also be made from crushed grapes collected and dried in an oven. The historian Vitruvius noted that deepness corresponded to wine quality. Finest wines produced a black with a bluish tinge like indigo. Different civilizations burned various plants to produce charcoal pigments. The Inuit of Alaska mixed wood charcoal with seal blood to paint masks. Polynesians burned coconuts to create their pigment. Lamp black served as a pigment for painting frescoes and making tattoos. Indian artists used it to paint the Ajanta Caves while ancient Japan used it as dye.
For ancient Egyptians, black held positive associations as the color of fertility and rich soil flooded by the Nile. It represented Anubis, the god of the underworld who took the form of a black jackal. Ancient Greeks saw black as representing the underworld separated by the river Acheron whose water ran black. Those committing worst sins were sent to Tartarus where Hades sat upon a black ebony throne. In medieval paintings the devil usually appeared with wings and black skin or hair. Benedictine monks wore black as a sign of humility and penitence during the 12th century. A theological dispute broke out between white-robed Cistercians and black-robed Benedictines. Pierre the Venerable accused the Cistercians of pride while Saint Bernard claimed black was the color of hell. By the 14th century high-quality dyes allowed garments of deep rich black to appear on the market. Magistrates began wearing black robes to signify importance and seriousness. Sumptuary laws restricted bright scarlet cloaks from Venice and peacock blue fabrics from Florence to nobility only. Wealthy bankers in northern Italy responded by changing to black robes made with expensive fabrics. The Duke of Milan and Count of Savoy began dressing in black before it spread to France.
Black can be defined as the color perceived when no visible light reaches the eye. Pigments that absorb almost all light rather than reflect it back look black. A black body is a perfect absorber of light but also the best emitter according to thermodynamic rules. Far ultraviolet light is called black light because it causes many minerals to fluoresce despite being unseen. Light interacts with atoms converting energy into other forms usually heat. This means black surfaces act as thermal collectors absorbing light and generating heat. As of September 2019 the darkest material comes from vertically aligned carbon nanotubes. MIT engineers grew this material which has a 99.995% absorption rate for any incoming light. It surpasses former materials including Vantablack which peaks at 99.965% absorption in the visible spectrum. Black holes are regions where gravity prevents anything including light from escaping. Around them lies an event horizon marking the point of no return. They appear black because they absorb all light hitting the horizon reflecting nothing like a perfect black body. Supermassive black holes of millions of solar masses may form by merging with others. The background color of outer space remains black due to Olbers paradox first noted in 1823.
The earliest pigments used by Neolithic man were charcoal red ocher and yellow ocher. Black lines of cave art were drawn with burnt torch tips made of resinous wood. Vine black was produced by burning grapevine branches or crushed grapes dried in ovens. Cennino Cennini described making black from vine tendrils burned then mulled with water. He also noted blacks made from burnt almond shells or peach pits mixed with gum arabic. Lamp black was created by filling lamps with linseed oil and collecting smoke under clean pans. This fine pigment required no grinding before use. Ivory black originally came from burning ivory though ordinary animal bones substitute today. Mars black is synthetic iron oxide commonly used in watercolors and oils. Good quality black dyes remained unknown until the middle of the 14th century. Early dyes came from bark roots or fruits like walnuts chestnuts or oak trees. These often faded to gray brown or bluish tones requiring multiple dye applications. A richer deeper black emerged from gall-nuts small tumors growing on oak trees. Gall-wasp larvae injected chemicals causing these round growths ranging 2 to 5 cm. The best dyes came from Poland eastern Europe near east and North Africa. Since mid-19th century synthetic black dyes largely replaced natural ones. Nigrosin remains an important mixture heated with nitrobenzene aniline and catalysts.
Anarchism became popular in late 19th and early 20th centuries using black flags as symbols. More recently movements adopted bisected red and black flags emphasizing socialist roots. Blackshirts were Fascist paramilitary groups organized by Benito Mussolini following World War I. They wore uniforms inspired by Arditi storm troops and used violence against opponents. Mussolini gained power in 1922 through his March on Rome with blackshirts. Adolf Hitler and Nazis also adopted black for their flag featuring a swastika symbolizing Aryan race. Black became the uniform color of SS Schutzstaffel officers from 1932 until WWII ended. The Lützow Free Corps adopted black uniforms in 1813 because they could not afford special colors. Students carried red black and gold flags believing them imperial colors though incorrect. In 1949 Federal Republic Germany returned to original student colors forming today's national flag. German armored troops traditionally wear black uniforms while Finnish units use black berets. Soviet OMON police and Russian naval infantry wear black berets too. Many countries adopt black berets for military police or special forces units. The Totenkopf skull symbol appears on Hussars Black Brunswickers Nazi Schutzstaffel and Estonian Kuperjanov Battalion.
Black first became fashionable for men in Europe during the 17th century courts of Italy and Spain. By the 19th century it dominated business and evening wear for both genders. Coco Chanel revolutionized women's fashion in 1926 by publishing a simple black dress drawing in Vogue magazine. She famously stated women need three things: a black dress sweater and a man she loves. Jean Patou followed suit creating a black collection in 1929. Gianni Versace called black quintessence of simplicity while Yves Saint Laurent saw it connecting art and fashion. Hubert de Givenchy designed one of most famous dresses worn by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's film. Black leather jackets appeared among motorcycle gangs like Hells Angels and street gangs in United States. Films such as The Wild One celebrated rebellion through black clothing. Punk fashion and goth subculture adopted black as emblematic color by late 20th century. Goth fashion emerged in England during 1980s inspired by Victorian mourning dress. Men's fashion gradually ceded dominance to navy blue especially in business suits after 1960. John F Kennedy was last American President inaugurated wearing formal dress before successors chose suits.
Common questions
What is the etymological origin of the word black?
The word black comes from Old English blæc, which meant both dark and ink. This term traces back to Proto-Germanic blakkaz meaning burned and further extends to Proto-Indo-European bhleg- describing burning or shining.
When was the country Nigeria named after the river Niger?
The country was named after the river Niger mentioned in the 1520s by Leo Africanus. He likely altered a local Tuareg name based on the Latin word for black.
How long ago were the Lascaux Cave paintings created?
The Lascaux Cave in France contains drawings of bulls and other animals created between 18,000 and 17,000 years ago. Paleolithic artists began using charcoal to create their lines before achieving darker pigments by burning bones or grinding manganese oxide powder.
Which year did MIT engineers grow the darkest known material as of September 2019?
As of September 2019 the darkest material comes from vertically aligned carbon nanotubes. MIT engineers grew this material which has a 99.995% absorption rate for any incoming light surpassing former materials including Vantablack.
In what year did Coco Chanel revolutionize women's fashion with a simple black dress?
Coco Chanel revolutionized women's fashion in 1926 by publishing a simple black dress drawing in Vogue magazine. She famously stated women need three things: a black dress sweater and a man she loves.