Today we're on a hunt with artists through time, searching for the blackest black. We’re after the deepest blacks, the most accurate blacks and, the most atmospheric blacks.

Beks is joined by artist Stuart Semple to help answer questions such as: is black really a colour and how do we see the colour black?
Step back in time to the Palaeolithic era to discover ancient cave paintings at the Lascaux caves. Then jump forward in time to hear about the scientific breakthrough Vantablack and the arguments it has caused.
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Stuart Semple is a multidisciplinary British artist whose work spans painting, performance, internet art, and installation. His work is known for its vibrant use of colour and techniques that challenge societal norms and question the role of the artist.
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? Find out more about the artworks mentioned in this episode:
Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas, 'Ballet Dancers', 1888 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/hilaire-germain-edgar-degas-ballet-dancers-1
Frans Hals, ‘The Laughing Cavalier’, 1624 © The Wallace Collection, London https://www.wallacecollection.org/explore/collection/search-the-collection/laughing-cavalier/
John Singer Sargent, ‘Madame X (Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau)’, 1883-84 © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/12127
John Singer Sargent, ‘Lord Ribblesdale’, 1902 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/john-singer-sargent-lord-ribblesdale
Robert Fludd, '"And so on to infinity..."', 1617. In 'Utriusque Cosmi, Maioris scilicet et Minoris (1617–21)'. Source: Wellcome Collection https://wellcomecollection.org/works/gbbychu2
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Further reading:
Find out more about the history of the Lascaux caves: https://lascaux.fr/en/history-of-lascaux/
If you want to find out more about how we see colour, check out our first ever episode of 'Stories in Colour': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYTWp_iLRh4&list=PLvb2y26xK6Y5oKGCTKesXyO-LR3f2XcZF&index=19
Isaac Newton, ‘Opticks: A Treatise of the Reflexions, Refractions, Inflections and Colours of Light’, 1704 [Book] https://wellcomecollection.org/works/d445akky/items
Find out more about Vantablack: https://www.vantablack.co.uk/
Take a closer look at Asif Khan's Hyundai Pavillion: https://www.asif-khan.com/project/hyundai-pavilion/
Find out more about Sir Anish Kapoor’s work with Vantablack: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2020/03/11/anish-kapoor-to-unveil-worlds-blackest-sculptures-during-2021-venice-biennale
https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/anish-kapoor/#venue
Find out more about Stuart Semple's work: https://stuartsemple.com/
Find out more about MIT's "blackest black" coating and 'The Redemption of Vanity': https://news.mit.edu/2019/blackest-black-material-cnt-0913
Robert Fludd, ‘Utriusque cosmi maioris scilicet et minoris metaphysica, physica atque technica historia ... [Tractatus secundus de naturae simia seu technica macrocosmi historia]’, 1624 [Book] https://wellcomecollection.org/works/tymqmuxa/items?canvas=42
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Episode credits:
Guest: Stuart Semple
Host and executive producer: Beks Leary  
Producer: Harry Rosehill  
Researcher: Hannah Rogers  
Technicians: Ian Warren, Tom Gulliver and Timothy Carpenter
Video Producers: Jeanne Kenyon and Alessandro Sorenti
Editor: Oli Mason
Theme music: Theo Elwell 
#NationalGallery #ArtHistory #Podcast #StoriesInColour
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