Venice

SANGUINE SEC and GRAS
The classic sanguine colours are a collection of pigments ranging from orange, ochre, brown, beige to earth red, produced from a natural ore (normally chalk or clay) containing iron oxide.

The sanguine crayon is made from a mixture of these natural colour pigments and gum arabic, also known as gum acacia and is either “gras” or “sec” depending on the amount of wax that has been added to the crayon’s composition. As the sanguine crayon is easily rubbed off the paper or pad the finished drawing is either framed behind glass or a thin coat of varnish is applied to protect the artwork from damage.

In the 15 th and 16 th century’s sanguine drawings and sketches were widely employed by artists including Dominique Ingres, Antoine Watteau, Honore Fragonard and Leonardo da Vinci.

Michel Rigel is a follower of this artist’s tradition where his sketches using the “blood red crayon” of live sittings with male and female models, landscapes and animals are used as the first draft for his future bronze sculptures and oil paintings.