Sketch for Putto

Francis Augustus Lathrop's pen study depicts a cherub in flight, rendered with economical line work against ochre paper. The figure floats in profile, one arm raised to the head in a classical pose that recalls Renaissance decoration. Lathrop, an American designer and illustrator active in the late nineteenth century, employed such studies as preparatory work for larger compositions—murals, ornamental schemes, and applied arts projects. This sketch demonstrates the foundational role of direct observation and anatomical study in creating convincing figures, a practice central to illustration training of the period. The gestural confidence of the linework reflects professional facility with the medium.