How to Display an Image in Grayscale in Matplotlib? Last Updated : 23 Jul, 2025 Comments Improve Suggest changes 2 Likes Like Report In this article, we are going to depict images using the Matplotlib module in grayscale representation using PIL, i.e. image representation using two colors only i.e. black and white. Syntax: matplotlib.pyplot.imshow(X, cmap=None) Displaying Grayscale image Displaying Grayscale image, store the image path here let's say it fname. Now open the image using PIL image method and convert it to L mode If you have an L mode image, that means it is a single-channel image - normally interpreted as grayscale. It only stores a grayscale, not color. Plotting the image as cmap = 'gray' converts the colors. All the work is done you can now see your image. Python3 # storing image path fname = r'g4g.png' # opening image using pil image = Image.open(fname).convert("L") # mapping image to gray scale plt.imshow(image, cmap='gray') plt.show() Output: Example 1: Python3 # importing libraries. import numpy as np import matplotlib.pyplot as plt from PIL import Image # storing image path fname = r'gfg.png' # opening image using pil image = Image.open(fname).convert("L") # mapping image to gray scale plt.imshow(image, cmap='gray') plt.show() Output: Image used Example 2: Python3 # importing libraries. import numpy as np import matplotlib.pyplot as plt from PIL import Image # storing image path fname = r'geeks.png' # opening image using pil image = Image.open(fname).convert("L") # mapping image to gray scale plt.imshow(image, cmap='gray') plt.show() Output: Image Used Create Quiz Comment P prachibindal2925 Follow 2 Improve P prachibindal2925 Follow 2 Improve Article Tags : Python Python-matplotlib Explore Python FundamentalsPython Introduction 2 min read Input and Output in Python 4 min read Python Variables 4 min read Python Operators 4 min read Python Keywords 2 min read Python Data Types 8 min read Conditional Statements in Python 3 min read Loops in Python - For, While and Nested Loops 5 min read Python Functions 5 min read Recursion in Python 4 min read Python Lambda Functions 5 min read Python Data StructuresPython String 5 min read Python Lists 4 min read Python Tuples 4 min read Python Dictionary 3 min read Python Sets 6 min read Python Arrays 7 min read List Comprehension in Python 4 min read Advanced PythonPython OOP Concepts 11 min read Python Exception Handling 5 min read File Handling in Python 4 min read Python Database Tutorial 4 min read Python MongoDB Tutorial 3 min read Python MySQL 9 min read Python Packages 10 min read Python Modules 3 min read Python DSA Libraries 15 min read List of Python GUI Library and Packages 3 min read Data Science with PythonNumPy Tutorial - Python Library 3 min read Pandas Tutorial 4 min read Matplotlib Tutorial 5 min read Python Seaborn Tutorial 3 min read StatsModel Library - Tutorial 3 min read Learning Model Building in Scikit-learn 6 min read TensorFlow Tutorial 2 min read PyTorch Tutorial 6 min read Web Development with PythonFlask Tutorial 8 min read Django Tutorial | Learn Django Framework 7 min read Django ORM - Inserting, Updating & Deleting Data 4 min read Templating With Jinja2 in Flask 6 min read Django Templates 5 min read Build a REST API using Flask - Python 3 min read Building a Simple API with Django REST Framework 3 min read Python PracticePython Quiz 1 min read Python Coding Practice 1 min read Python Interview Questions and Answers 15+ min read Like