19th century, Pair of lunettes with angels and animals

19th century Pair of lunettes with angels and animals Sanguine on paper, cm 34 x 17 Sanguine is a red ochre used to create drawing pastels, particularly popular in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The color, similar to that of blood, is due to the material of which it is composed, namely hematite, which has an iron composition. The hematite mixture is shaped to form pointed sticks with which it is possible to draw marks on paper. Often the mixture is enriched with small amounts of ocher. Sanguine, in graphic techniques, can be used like a common graphite pencil, using hatching to simulate the shaded parts of a model and leaving the surface of the sheet clean for those in the light. Or you can use the shading technique in which, using a rag, the artist spreads the dusty marks left on the sheet by the sanguine until the tone of the entire surface is lowered, and then resumes work by removing the dust on the highlights; breadcrumbs or soft rubber are used for this operation. Often the two techniques, hatching and shading, are used in combination. In many ancient drawings, sanguine is found used together with charcoal or black stone: a first sketch was made in sanguine which was then taken up with the darker marks of charcoal or black stone. The lighter color tone of the sanguine prevented the first marks, often subject to second thoughts, from hindering the overall vision of the final version at the end of the work. In the 17th century, sanguine was often used on dyed sheets and in combination with white lead or chalk, with which the lights were obtained, or sometimes it was used together with watercolor.