19th. C. Sanguine Portrait of Young Woman

A quiet profile, rendered in sanguine chalk on paper. Sanguine is a red-brown chalk made from natural iron oxide — hematite — ground and bound into a stick. The name comes from the Latin sanguis, blood, for that warm rust-to-terracotta color.

Housed in its original oval giltwood frame with glass protecting the art with a broad, ornamented outer border — acanthus corners, a berried laurel band circling the sight edge. The gilt has aged into something better than new: soft losses at the high points, a warm patina settled into the gesso, the kind of wear that tells you this has hung somewhere loved for a very long time.

Condition is presented as found — the paper shows foxing and edge wear consistent with age, and the frame carries expected losses to the gilding and minor separations at the corners, none of which detract from its considerable presence. 

• Material: Sanguine on Paper

• Size: overall 26x23"

• Period: late 19th C.  

• Condition: Presented as found

• Item Code: 1803