Chapter Seventy One - "Painting in Monochrome"

On the afternoon of the 16th December,  after a leisurely lunch, I made my way to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square to visit the Monochrome exhibition, charting the history of black and white painting from the 14th century to the present day.

The introductory video briefly mentioned the main reasons for employing a monochrome technique, also highlighting the other-worldly associations. Monochrome helps the onlooker to more clearly  see the nuances of light and dark, which in turn can give the illusion of three dimensions. Monochrome painting also allows artists to prepare themselves for larger, more complex colour works. To clear up any confusion, monochrome, as explored in this exhibition, implies the tonal range of a single colour, not necessarily black and white (also called ‘grisaille’, from the French).


1) Sacred Subjects

The exhibition opened with a look at the use of monochrome in the 14th century, particularly in the religious setting. The earliest monochrome paintings were used in the Christian church to serve specific spiritual purposes, namely (1) providing a simplified meditative space, (2) as framing devices to denote hierarchy, (3) for Lent works, where restricted colour represents penitence and mourning, (4) death and martyrdom, and (5) to provide a contrast between the everyday and the spiritual, requiring heightened solemnity.

A French stained glass panel from the Abbey Church of Saint-Denis, Paris, from 1320-4 showed an early example of grisaille glass. This was popularised in the late medieval French court, following its earlier use in Cistercian monasteries where the use of colour was prohibited.

Next, to a triptych depicting the Virgin and Child, an altarpiece from 1478 by Hans Memling. To draw the eyes towards the focal point of the Virgin and Child on the inner panel, in colour, the outer panels utilised monochrome to depict images of various Saints.

A favourite work of mine was ‘The Nativity’ (1450) by Petrus Christus, with a brightly coloured nativity scene bordered by an archway depicting Old Testament characters as if carved in stone. Here, monochrome is used to show the Old Testament as shadowy and colourless, with clarity and colour only truly coming with the birth of Christ, depicted centrally.

In a similar fashion, the work by Frans Francken II in 1633, ‘The Parable of the Prodigal Son’, depicts scenes from the parable in grisaille, with the central scene of the homecoming painted in bold colour to emphasise the message of forgiveness and redemption.

The final piece in this section of the exhibition was a Genoese work called ‘Agony in the Garden’ (1538), a passion image printed in monochrome on cloth for Lent in churches. Instead of the traditional black and grey painting, seen elsewhere, the Genoese had the unique approach of painting using white oil on an indigo canvas. These works were informally known as Gênes (from Genoese), which was also spelled as ‘Jeans’, from which we get our terminology today. The particular canvas on display depicted Jesus in Gethsemane, as the name suggests, with a scene of Judas hanging himself (on the left) in contrast with Peter’s denial and repentance (on the right).


2) Studies in Light and Shadow

The second section of the exhibition explored the use of monochrome to determine the fall of lights and shade for site-specific works, such as the ceiling fresco by Francisco Bayen y Subías, ‘The Spanish Monarchy’ (1794), for the Royal Palace in Madrid.

Similarly, ‘Vulcan's Forge’ (1756) by François Boucher was used as a monochrome preparation for a later colour work, allowing the artist to perfect tonality and composition before the final colour work was sent to the weavers.

Monochrome studies, being preparatory by nature, were also often used to help devise solutions to artistic problems, as in the 1538 painting of ‘Saint Matthew’ by Beccafumi.

Barocci depicts Aeneas and Anchises escaping from Troy (1587-95), using warm brown tones rather than black or grey, thereby hinting at the full colour palette used in final work.

Sometimes the monochrome aesthetic of preparatory designs was such that artists deliberately left them unfinished, as with much of Gustave Moreau’s work in the 19th century.


3) Independent Paintings in Grisaille

From the 16th century a new interest in monochrome art emerged, with works being produced as pictures in their own right, rather than as the previously mentioned subsidiaries to other images, or studies. There was also, at this time, a large growth in monochrome reproductions of existing colour compositions, as these were economical to produce and buy.

The independent grisaille works served to impress with artistic skill, invite curiosity about the composition of a piece, and encourage a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

We first came to a rather ambiguous work, ‘Saint Barbara’, by Dutch artist Jan van Eyck in 1437. There was much discussion as to whether this was a finished drawing (the ink on panel being left at this stage), or an unfinished painting (as paintings often began as underdrawings). If this was indeed meant as a finished drawing, it suggests that the taste for independent works in monochrome go back as early as the 15th century.

A striking image in this section of the exhibition was Hendrik Gottzius’s ‘Without Ceres and Bacchus, Venus would Freeze’ (1599), meaning that without food and wine, love would grow cold. Due to the high degree of finish, and the signature and date, this is considered to be a finished work.

Adriaen Van de Venne (1589-1662) was one of the first artists to specialise in grisaille painting for most of his career. His colours, earthtones, deliberately reflected the lowly positions of his subjects.

Eugène Carniere (1849-1906), also used colours deliberately, using a non-naturalistic range to evoke a particular emotional state, as seen in his 1896-7 work, ‘Maternity (Suffering)’, which has echoes of the Virgin and Christ. This style would go on to influence 20th century photographs.

Picasso brought his own Cubist idiom to monochrome art with his work of ‘Infanta Marguerita María’ from ‘Las Meninas’ in 1957. Monochrome here allowed a focus on form, contour, and spacial relationships, in a bid to not just master Velasquez but also outdo him.

The iconic cover work of the exhibition was shown here, ‘Odalisque in Grisaille’ (c.1824-34), by Ingres. This was a simplified composition from an original 1814 work, which occupied Ingres for a long period of time. As such, it also serves as a tool to teach artists to paint.

The two final works in this section were Jan Brueghel’s ‘Visit to the Peasants’ (c.1597) and Adriaen Van de Werff’s ‘Samson and Delilah (?)’ (c.1693), an example of a ‘ricordi’, a painting that reproduces or records a colour composition in monochrome.


4) Monochrome Painting and Sculpture

This section looked at how painters have tried to outdo sculpture, particularly in Italy. This comparison (‘paragone’) fuelled a polemical debate, as images were painted as if they were three dimensional sculptures, thus fooling the eye.

Of note in consideration of monochrome paintings mimicking sculpture is ‘The Annunciation Diptych’ by Jan van Eyck, with Gabriel and the Virgin portrayed as stone sculptures, with the illusion of depth. There are also some sculptural impossibilities incorporated to remind the onlooker that this is actually a painting.

Another way of challenging the medium of sculpture was to portray a sitter in two dimensions – thus questioning the claim by many that painters were limited to a single view only. This approach is cleverly seen in Titian’s ‘Portrait of a Lady (La Schiavona)’ in 1510-12.

Geevaerts was another artist who evoked sculpture through trompe l’oleil in his ‘Children’s Game’ of 1750-70.

Artists took this trompe l’oleil to another level by combining stone materials in a way that sculptors could not do, as in Andrea Mantegna’s ‘The Introduction to Cult of Cybele at Rome’ (1505-6) – where grey stone is seemingly combined with a background of fiery coloured marble.

Sometimes onlookers would be none the wiser, as in the fictive relief of ‘Jupiter and Ganymede’ by Jacob de Wit in 1739, mistaken for a real carving.

Sometimes artists worked alongside sculptors (rather than in competition with them), to assist them in their working process, testing how light falls, giving an idea of the finished work to the patron. Such was the case with ‘Deposition’ (1800) by Antony d’Este, working with sculptor Antonio Canova.


5) Monochrome Painting and Printmaking

From the late 16th century, prints were circulated to enable young artists to learn to draw through copying. These prints acted in a similar way to models. Grisaille works were used in preparation for printmaking, but also to compete with them. Examples include Rembrandt’s ‘Ece Homo’, and van Dyck’s ‘Rinaldo and Armida’ (1644).

A work of note was ‘La Porvoyeuse’ by Moulinneuf, who creates the illusion of a print of an earlier work, but painting it as if behind shattered glass – thus reinforcing the fact that this was not a print, but a painting in its own right. A potential reproduction was turned into a unique work of art, shattering the original illusion.

Two works by Hendrik Goltzius (1558-1617) made in the style of prints were ‘The Great Hercules’ (1589) and a reproduction of ‘Without Ceres and Bacchus, Venus would Freeze’ (1606), mentioned earlier.


6) Age of Photography and Film

With the introduction of photography and film, monochrome artists were divided – some welcomed it, while some felt threatened, especially those working in portraiture.

Gustave Le Gray (1820-84) was a photographer who tried to produce painting-like photographs, as seen in ‘The Great Wave’ (1857) which combines two negatives with different exposure times.

Balke (1804-1887) did the opposite, creating monochrome paintings to parallel contemporary photographs.

The portrait painter Joseph Blanc (1818-88) felt threatened by photography, as he painted his monochrome ‘Head of a Girl’ (1867).

Chuck Close, a photographer, took the unusual approach of painting his portrait ‘Joel’ (1993) to look like a pixellated photograph.


7) Abstraction

The penultimate section of the exhibition looked at non-representational art of the early 20th century. This artwork was intended to provoke responses or associations rather than focusing on the original subject matter. An otherworldly reduction of the everyday. Examples include Bridget Riley’s ‘Horizontal Vibrations’ (1961), Jasper John’s ‘Untitled’ (2007), meant to cause us to question nature, colour and meaning, and Kuzimir Malevich’s ‘Black Square’ (1929).


8) Olafur Eliasson

The final section was ‘Room for One Colour’ (1997), an immersive work allowing me a direct look at monochrome for myself, as monofrequency lamps removed colours from the everyday, allowing perception of my surroundings without distraction. It caused us to question how much of our own expectations are brought to the everyday things we see, and we see in much more detail as our eyes focus on light and dark. A unique conclusion to a unique and fascinating exhibition.