Sanguine: From Rock to Paint

The chunks were quite large — some even bigger than a walnut. → Sanguine might seem inaccessible at first, as hard as rock. But all it takes is a stonemason’s hammer, and the solid masses turn into chunks, rubble, crushed stone, sand, and, finally, dust.

Then comes the mulling, oil, more mulling, more → oil — until the process is complete. But why go through all this effort?

This ground-to-dust piece of rock is now becoming a rich, blood-red, buttery pigment — straight from the Italian → Renaissance. Now, all that’s left is to mix it with a binding agent, and the finely ground paint is ready for the brush.