Speaking of black and white, I always thought Aubrey Beardsley used white in amazing ways. Lots of big, flat space amongst the decorative black. It's the silence between the words.
Light and dark are so important in artworks. If you want to see an amazing use of black and white watch Murnau's Nosferatu. And, yes, I know it seems unrelated but it's even had an impact on my horse drawings. Beautiful.