Musical portrait: a review of the genre development in piano art and problems of typology

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to characterize the genre of portrait in painting as a source ofrelevant images in music. The methodology of the study is to apply a comparative approach,empirical, general logical (analysis, synthesis) methods. Scientific novelty. The article describesthe stages of the development of a musical portrait from the genesis of the genre to the twentiethcentury, in comparison with the history of the development of a portrait in the visual arts. Acharacteristic of the types of musical portrait is derived, based on the typology of the genre in thefine arts. Conclusions. In art criticism, a portrait is viewed as a complex characteristic of a personwho, through appearance (facial expression, posture, gesture) conveys her inner world. A musicalportrait usually belongs to the environment of programme music: portrait cannot beidentified without any non-musical landmarks. The programme title, monogram cannot be a meansof creating a portrait: the title only names the character but doesn’t represent it. The methods ofdepicting a person in a musical portrait are determined by the specificity of the musical art and its means of expressiveness.Key words: portrait genre, musical portrait, typology of portrait, programme music, portraitminiature.