V.M. Diffine-Christi`s Samarkand Period 1941-1943 in the Context of her Creative Career

The research is an attempt to study the legacy of Valentina Diffine-Christi (1918 – 2010), the artist who has been unfairly forgotten. During her long artistic career Diffine-Christi had experienced a large number of disturbances that impacted not only her life, but her art. One of the outstanding periods in terms of the influence on her work was the period of evacuation in Samarkand during the Second World War. As a hypothesis we have made an assumption that Diffine-Christi being surrounded by the most talented artists of that time could change her style of painting and the direction of creative life in the conditions of creative freedom, but being in lack of money. The aim of the study was to analyze the influence of the Samarkand period (1941-1943) on the evolution of art of Diffine-Christi. The study of the artists’ biography, the history of the evacuation of art institutes in Samarkand during the war years, the study of biographies of other artists who were evacuated to Samarkand and the analysis of the Samarkand period in the art of Valentina Diffine-Christi and the various influences on her art let us make following conclusions. There is no doubt that Samarkand period influenced the further work of Valentina Diffine-Christi. Working side by side with famous artists and ordinary students, no less talented than their teachers, relaxed while working far away from the capitals full of censorship, the artists were able to develop their talents. Diffine-Christi was not an exception. Adopting some of the techniques from the artists Konstantin Korovin, Evgenii Diffine and Robert Falk, she managed to find her own style, which she remained true to during the early postwar years. Although her style which was inherited from the artists mentioned above and which was developed during the years of evacuation, began to change since the end of 1950-s, its influence remained appearing in the works of different periods until the end of 1990-s.