Study for 'Zodiac'

Francis Augustus Lathrop's preparatory sketch explores figure composition and movement through multiple poses of winged cherubs and putti. The page combines anatomical study with decorative arrangement, showing how late-nineteenth-century American illustrators developed designs for ornamental projects. The loose ink line and overlapping figures demonstrate working methods that bridge fine art and commercial illustration—a practice foundational to the visual language emerging in newspaper comics and graphic narratives of the era.