A Choral Band

About this work

This sketch shows a messy, crowded group of people—some standing, some slumped—all tangled together in a forest. Their faces are blurry, almost like they’re melting into the trees. The lines are scratchy and uneven, giving everything a rough, hurried feel. The bottom has labels like "PRUSSIA," "ITAL," and "SWISS," maybe pointing to where the people are from. The artist signed it "L. Bates fecit," which is a fancy way of saying "Lydia Bates made this." Next, check out etching to see how artists like this used ink and metal plates to create these kinds of lines.