Not much of those you linked to actually use pure black, but this one comes pretty close: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Francisco_de_Zurbarán_018.jpg http:

Not much of those you linked to actually use pure black, but this one comes pretty close: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Francisco_de_Zurbarán_018.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Francisco_de_Zurbarán_018.... It also happens to show very nicely what's wrong with using pure black as shadows: they're not shadows, they're holes. (what a god-awful painting, btw. and they compare his work to Caravaggio's ... )