Palm Sunday Market near the Saviour Gate on Red Square, Moscow
1917
Fairs were timed to coincide with local patron saints' days and inevitably reverted into merry fêtes. There were more than 1,700 fairs travelling about Russia with their commodities in the first half of the nineteenth century. The more crowded and opulent the fair, the greater the scale of the accompanying festivities. The free and easy atmosphere of the fair attracted young and old alike to the lines of traders. The crush of the crowd, the cries of the hawkers and the din and music long remained in the memories of the Russian people as a bright and joyful national festivity. Play and Passion in Russian Fine Art. St-Petersburg. 1999. P. 102.
Fairs and bazaars are central themes in Kustodiev's art. Here crowds of people are out walking in Moscow. The Kremlin and the Cathedral of St Basil the Blessed are in the background. The sheer number and variety of people are a reflection of the excitement abroad in Russia at that time. Play and Passion in Russian Fine Art. St-Petersburg. 1999. P. 103.