Sanguine Red is a limited edition color introduced by Winsor & Newton in their Twilight series. It’s made from PR187, a pigment I’ve never seen in any other brand. This is a moderate-chroma middle red, slightly on the cool side. It is a middle red to crimson, similar to Pyrrol Crimson (PR264), but more transparent.
Pigment Stats for PR187
Per ArtIsCreation
Chemical Name: Monoazo barium salt
Lightfastness Rating: II
Toxicity: A (Nontoxic)
Transparency Rating: 4 (Totally Transparent)
My Observations of WN Sanguine Red
Gradient: Grades from a deep (but not dark) red to a light red. Definitely less “pinky” than Alizarin Crimson. It doesn’t get quite as dark as I’d expect from a crimson but is overall a bit more muted than a fire engine red. I found it more satisfyingly bright and deep when wet, but it dried duller and lighter.
I wrote “vertical lines” because I noticed that it was dispersing in an odd way with little vertical channels of deeper color encroaching on the lighter band. This usually happens when a paint is very dispersive.
Transparency: Transparent.
Color Mixes
Overall I found these mixes to be about what I’d expect for a middle red, but as with the swatch, they dried a bit dull. The purples are particularly muted, bordering on brown; the oranges are also a bit more on the “brick red” zone than “bright orange” zone.
Comparison to Other Brands
Winsor & Newton is the only company I know of with a PR187.
My Overall Review of Sanguine Red
This color was fun to paint out, but when it dried, I wasn’t wowed by the results. In my book, this color isn’t serious competition for the competitive middle red or crimson spots. It’s sort of in-between a bold bright red, a deep crimson, and a muted earthy red, and doesn’t do any of those slots particularly well.
The WN paint I tried is no longer available.