Spasskova O. The easel and book illustration in Viktor Yefymenko’s graphics: subject matter and stylistics (last third of the 20th century).

This dissertation is the first comprehensive study on the work of the Odesa graphic artist Viktor Yefymenko (1933 – 1994). The source base of the study is the rich creative heritage of the master, factual material, which allowed to systematize illustrations in thematic and chronological sequence. The originality of the artist’s graphic embodiment of the main themes of the story by M. M. Kotsyubinsky «Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors» in linocuts (1966) and lithographs (1970s) is considered. Yefymenko’s illustrations, like Kotsyubynsky’s literature, are characterized by the style of neo-romanticism. The conceptual comprehension of the work, the study of Ukrainian culture led the illustrator to understand the deep archetypes of the story (tree of life, mountain) and to the creation of mythological and poetic images (dachshund, lovers, man and nature). In individual portraits of the characters psychologism is revealed and the mentality of mountaineers is transmitted. The artistic embodiment of historical images in a series of etchings to the «Tale of Igor’s Campaign» (1978 – 1985) is investigated. It is revealed that the main focus is on the anti-war theme, which was manifested in the philosophical content of the etchings. The artist expressed ideas that excited him, were contemporary and remain relevant today. A deep interest in national history is manifested in the true portrayal of historical events and characters, the understanding of pagan and Christian symbolism, the perfect depiction of details.