Typology of Genre of Literary Portraits

The literary portrait became one of such genres which have been activly included in genre system of an epic type. Nowadays the problem of literary portrait genre represents an art phenomenon synthesizing in its contents and structure the elements of documentary and art genres, and it turns out to be a field of discussions about its belonging to system of publicistic or art genres. Research of forms and functions of a literary portrait in main types of epic type - novels, tales, stories, sketches and in writings of memoir literature - is conducted in several directions in works of scientists. It is caused by expansion of portrait function as art ensemble element where such sign of genre, as way of its subject organization is distinctly shown. Approaches to studying interrelation of a portrait as part of art ensemble with stages of literary process and literary genre in particular are planned in literary science.