Procession with a bird

The painting depicts a magical procession of lamplighters with a marvelous Firebird. In the old days, lamplighters were as amazing characters as the Firebird herself. Kindred spirits on fire.
In Moscow, lanterns appeared at the end of the 17th century around the royal palace. In 1730, lanterns burned only in the city center and only on major holidays, the first of them were lit by decree of Empress Anna Ioannovna. Later, they began to be used on weekdays, but on moonlit nights, lanterns were still considered an unjustified luxury. In the moonlight, lanterns in the capital began to be lit only at the beginning of the 20th century...