Sanguine is an art material, a thick chalk stick of a reddish-brown color. The wide range of tones within this color allows artists to create realistic portraits, landscapes, and still lifes. Sanguine drawings feature red, terra cotta, and brown colors. This chalk is often combined with a black charcoal pencil or sauce crayon.

Sanguine has been known since the end of the 15th century. Over three centuries, it became more and more popular, finding usage in different styles of art, including Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassicism. Sanguine was especially popular in the European center of painting — Italy, home of the great Renaissance masters. Sanguine was used by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo, in particular in their studies for the Sistine Chapel.

The popularity of sanguine in Italy was caused not only by artistic preferences but also by geology: Italy is rich in clay, ocher, and sienna of similar shades. Italian craftsmen knew a secret technique that allowed them to grind the components of sanguine and fire them in a kiln to produce bright chalk for local artists.

Sanguine is usually available in the form of sticks, rounded bars, or rods for mechanical pencils. Among Russian artists, it became widespread at the turn of the 20th century. It was especially popular among portraitists because the soft shading allowed them to render the detailed modeling of the face and hands.

Sanguine is highly resistant to sunlight which keeps colors from fading for a long time. It can be combined with various techniques, including hatching, grinding, and shading. Due to fragility, this material requires great skill and experience from the artist, and if handled incorrectly a drawing can crumble or be erased.

Sanguine should be properly stored so it does not lose its properties and color. Special tubes are designed for this purpose. Sanguine sticks can be placed tightly inside hard wooden cases, so they do not grow damp or crumble and are always at hand.