Children as Ballad Singers
Three ragtag children have set up a lively street performance in this charming sketch by Swiss artist Gottfried Locher. The central figure points a long stick at a large broadsheet—classic 'Bänkelsänger' style, where singers would narrate dramatic stories from pictures—while his companions provide the musical accompaniment. One sits playing a small pipe, and the other stands with a long bassoon-like instrument, their cheeks puffed with effort. It captures a candid moment of 18th-century street entertainment, showing how even children participated in the popular ballad-selling trade of the time.
- Technique
- watercolor and ink
- Material
- paper
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