From Greek 'monos' (single) + 'khroma' (colour) — originally one-hue paintings, then black-and-white photography.
Consisting of or displayed in shades of a single colour, especially black and white; lacking variety or interest.
From Medieval Latin 'monochrōma,' from Greek 'monókhrōmos' (of one colour), composed of 'monos' (single, alone) and 'khrōma' (colour). The Greek 'monos' derives from PIE *men- (small, isolated), while 'khrōma' likely traces to *gʰrē- (to rub, to grind). The word entered English in the mid-seventeenth century as a term in art criticism, referring to paintings executed
Pliny the Elder describes ancient Greek painters who worked exclusively in monochrome — using only white, black, yellow, and red earth pigments. He considered the great monochrome masters (including Zeuxis and Apelles) superior to later painters who used a wider palette, a judgment that reverses modern assumptions about the relationship between colour range and artistic achievement.
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