Concept of “artist” in early works of Th. Mann

The article deals with the study of one of the main topics - the “Artist” expressed in the double - modal presentation (a human being as an artist and an artist as a human being) of Th. Mann. His work and life were characterized by X. Kurztke statement: das Leben als Kunstwerk (life as an artwork). In contemporary studies, the work of Th. Mann is identified as a non-classical type of poetics, as poetics of an art modality. A new concept of a human being as a becoming but not yet an accomplished being led to a totally new perception of the artist at this stage of the new art consciousness development. The concept of an “Artist” was revised at the beginning of the XXth century. This article is not concerned with the issue of an artist as a writer, but - with an artist of life. He is viewed now not only as a creator of new images facilitative in setting moods and feelings, but as an artist-demiurge who creates new worlds. The key meaning to understanding the issue of “Lebensform” (form of life) or “Daseinsform” (form of being) appears in Th. Mann’s works rather early. Due to its peculiar linguistic style the novel “King’s Highness” (1909) is traditionally interpreted as a literature artwork. In this article thought is also interpreted by means of decoding a new concept of a human being encrypted in the concept of an “Artist”. “King’s Highness”, as this research shows, is a work of allegory, a novel about the art and the artist, who does not only create texts but practices life (“Lebenskunst”).