On 28 March 2008, the Hermitage State Museum will hold its traditional the Day of the March Cat – a special project developed by the museum and dedicated to the cats that live there. “Cats have become a very important part of our life here at the Hermitage and a significant tradition for us”, says Hermitage director Mikhail Piotrovsky.

The story of the little Tommies begins in the early 18th century, when Peter the Great brought a cat from Holland and let it live in the Winter Palace. Following Empress Elisabeth’s order later that century, “cats particularly good at mousing” were delivered from Kazan to the city along the Neva. The Hermitage file archives still include a document titled Order to Send Cats to the Court. Elisabeth’s instruction was to find the best and biggest cats in Kazan, ones that would be useful to catch mice. “Should anyone have such virile cats,” the order read, “they shall be announced and sent to the provincial office as soon as possible”. Catherine the Great, who founded the Hermitage Museum, declared that cats would be the guardians of the picture galleries.

This year, the Day of the March Cat, which has become a wonderful and heartwarming tradition over the recent years, will be held on 28 March under the slogan “About Cats and for Cats”. Students from the Art Studio, as well as those taking classes in the art departments of the Hermitage’s Youth Centre Student Club, will present their works alongside professional artists in the basement of the Winter Palace.

Cats and Kittens is these young artists’ sixth exhibition and the School Centre Art Studio’s eleventh art event this year. It brings together children’s works from temporary drawing-storages assembled between 1991 and 2007. These youths were given a week to get to know an aspect of the Hermitage Museum that’s generally hidden from museum visitors, during which they created photos and videos which were later united under the single theme of cats. They had the unique opportunity to wander across courtyards and basements in the Hermitage complex with their cameras. This resulted in a video-work titled The Hermitage – Cats, and a photo installation, which all Hermitage Museum visitors who come on the day of celebration will see under the arch at the entrance to the Great Courtyard of the Winter Palace.

Also to be held on the Day of the March Cat is the presentation of Alexei Bobrinsky’s book, Hermits – A Petersburg Fairytale, with illustrations by painters Olga Popugaeva and Dmitry Nepomnyaschy. Graphics and models of characters from the book will also be exhibited in the museum’s basement.

The book is a co-project of the Hermit Park Company, the Worldwide Club of Petersburgers, and Vita Nova Publishers. The purpose of the project is to publish a fascinating book for families and also to contribute to developing interest among young Petersburgers in the history, architecture, and cultural heritage of their native city.

Petersburg is present on every page of the book, where well-known parts of the city centre turn into fairytale scenery while retaining their realistic features. The fairytale includes animated city statues, talking cats from the Hermitage, the discovery of secrets in old buildings, and of the building’s guardians. These are the Hermits – descendants of European fairies who became related to the local house spirits and have a number of magic abilities. The illustrations reflect the emotions and content of each chapter, and the magic of Petersburg is not only used as the background for the adventure story but also appears as a living creature, ever-changing but still unchanged.

As the project managers put it, "The tradition to hold the Day of the March Cat at the Hermitage, uniting people of different ages - such as schoolchildren and students, members of the Hermitage, inhabitants and visitors of Petersburg, all of them caring for our little friends - will always continue. Originated several years ago, the Day of the March Cat will be held on 28 March and will remind us, once again, about cats that are not just friends but are a beautiful help to the country’s largest museum."

Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage Museum

Maria Khaltunen, press secretary to the Hermitage cats

Raising money to provide the Hermitage cats with food and medical treatment

Photo installation at the Youth Centre

First visitors

Works by Art Studio students shown in the Winter Palace basement

Models of characters from Alexei Bobrinsky’s book, Hermits – A Petersburg Fairytale

Murzuki by Yulia Prosvirnina

Kat Georg

Copyright © 2011 State Hermitage Museum
All rights reserved. Image Usage Policy.
About the Site