«А great many people think that the Hermitage is only a museum. Some people know that it is also a serious research centre, where works of art are studied, restored and preserved. And only for a very small number, a chosen few, the Hermitage is home. It is to these — the Hermitage cats — that the authors dedicate their book. Two kinds of cats can be seen in the Hermitage. The real ones, who occupy the Hermitage basements, have been in state service, attached to the museum, for more than 260 years now. The other kind of cats are part of the museum exhibits, the best loved specimens in the Hermitage «menagerie». They are looking at us out of display cases and canvases by the great masters. Cats in art and real-life cats — these two sorts of felines are the subjects of this lavishly illustrated book. It provides an interesting insight into the long history of interaction between humans and cats.»
