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Lot Essay
The Most Unbelievable Story, or The Mice Bury the Cat is one of the most popular subejcts of the Russian folk picture or lubok with a history that goes back to the early seventeenth century. All the big workshops engraved or lithographed until the beginning of the twentieth century.
Depicted on four strips is the funeral procession of the mice. A number over each mouse refers to the appropriate passage in the text. Rovinskii and other researchers after him, came to the conclusion that this print was a parody on the burial of Peter the Great in 1725. Rovinskii was the first to suggest the interpretation of certain details. For instance, the sledge on which the bound cat is being drawn is pulled in another print by eight mice, corresponding to the eight horses in Peter's funeral procession. The eight mice are playing musical instruments, and it is a well-known fact that the playing of music at funeral processions was started under Peter the Great (the first occasion was the funeral of his favourite, Lefort). One of the mice is riding in a gig, a vehicle forbidden by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, but brought back into use by his son, Peter, who liked it very much. Another mouse is carrying bast shoes, the weaving of which was made compulsory by the Tsar, etc.
In Rovinskii's opinion, all this points to the fact that the picture has been produced by the opponents of Peter's reforms.
The burial of the cat was a very popular subject among the people and was repeated for almost two centuries in different versions.
Depicted on four strips is the funeral procession of the mice. A number over each mouse refers to the appropriate passage in the text. Rovinskii and other researchers after him, came to the conclusion that this print was a parody on the burial of Peter the Great in 1725. Rovinskii was the first to suggest the interpretation of certain details. For instance, the sledge on which the bound cat is being drawn is pulled in another print by eight mice, corresponding to the eight horses in Peter's funeral procession. The eight mice are playing musical instruments, and it is a well-known fact that the playing of music at funeral processions was started under Peter the Great (the first occasion was the funeral of his favourite, Lefort). One of the mice is riding in a gig, a vehicle forbidden by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, but brought back into use by his son, Peter, who liked it very much. Another mouse is carrying bast shoes, the weaving of which was made compulsory by the Tsar, etc.
In Rovinskii's opinion, all this points to the fact that the picture has been produced by the opponents of Peter's reforms.
The burial of the cat was a very popular subject among the people and was repeated for almost two centuries in different versions.