30
15 illustrations for:
Sasha and Yashka, 1928
All watercolour on paper
18 x 18 cm
P R O V E N A N C E
Private Collection, London
S
asha and Yashka, the short-form names of Alexander and
Yakov, is based on the German-language poem about Max
and Moritz, originally written in 1865, 'A Story of Seven
Boyish Pranks'.
This tale of two n'er-do-wells, the collection concentrates solely
on the sixth trick, 'The Baker', where Max and Moritz are caught
trying to steal from a baker, are baked in an oven and gnaw out
of a bread loaf to safety. The denouement in the original poem,
where Max and Moritz are ground to death in a grain mill, is
radically changed, however, to reflect the theme of redemption if
our heroes had taken a good communist path.
The date of collection, 1928, is significant, coming at a time when
Communist Party propaganda was reaching its zenith and was a
theme of many Soviet novels past and present.
