No, it is not a cropped images. It is a photograph of two identical statue, except, one is in bronze, the other is worked with Vantablack (Photo by Surrey Nanosystems)
First of all, Vantablack is not a colour like black colour or grey colour. It is actually a substance. And it is not a natural as it was created by man of Surrey Nanosystems in the UK.
Vantablack created with ability to absorbs virtually all light, with it original intentions, to help eliminate stray light in satellites and telescopes.
What it is made of then? Vantablack is made of a vertically aligned of super tiny, hollow carbon nano tubes, each the width of a single atom.
According to the Surrey NanoSystems website, a surface area of 1 centimeter squared would contain around 1000 million nanotubes. When light hits the tubes, it is absorbed and cannot escape, which means that actually, Vantablack is the absence of color. Which is in contra with the definitions of colour
Color, as we humans know it, is the result of the way light is reflected off of an object and into our eyes. Different light frequencies translate into different colors.
Vantablack, as now, is the darkest artificial substances ever known. But, if science put asides, of course, the darkest thing will be your evil heart.
Vantablack on a foil (Photo by Surrey Nanosystems)
Source:
www.surreynanosystems.com
Wikipedia
www.mentalfloss.com