Wonderful Words.

Since beginning my career in the auction industry I've been exposed to a plethora of artwork and antiques that I would have otherwise been unaware of. Along with the exposure to these various items I've also been presented with an abundance of new terms and vocabulary. With that said, inspiration for a blog has occurred and I will now share with you the first word in my "underused terminology that I find interesting and/or useful" series.

While entering the description of a drawing that will be in our August 1st sale at Clarke Auction, ClarkeNY.com, I came across the word sanguine. It was jotted down post artist's name by colleague in semi-sloppy handwriting and being unaware of the meaning I was unsure of whether this was a continuation of the name, location, description, etc. So what other choice does a girl have but to Google it!

Come to find out it's a particular type of chalk which is reddish-brown in color and used primarily for sketches. It's also similar in texture to charcoal or pastel and requires a fixative to prevent any unwanted smudging.

Here is an example of a sanguine sketch: 

Leonardo da Vinci's Self Portrait.