Chromoclasm

The preference for sombre, dark clothing does not only reflect "bourgeois" values, but also what Pastoreau characterises as the "chromoclasm" or "war against colour" being an important dimension in the new Christian morals of Protestantism - in fact, Pastoureau actually links this "chromoclasm" explicitly to the distinct cultural opposition between black and white and colour in cinema.

There is no clear evidence that the polychromy of altarpieces was at that stage wilfully removed or overpainted, which would suggest chromoclasm, a term coined by Michel Pastoureau.

Protestant chromoclasm, whether Lutheran or Calvinist, involved the church and the worship service first of all. For the great reformers, the presence of color was excessive there; it had to be reduced or eliminated.