The portrait of the artist in the context of the era: a dual perspective (novel “The map and the territory” by Michel Houellebecq)

The paper analyses the genre specifics and problem areas in Michel Houellebecq's latest novel "The Map and the Territory" (2010). The genre tradition of the novel about artist is regarded as the main one. The system of the genre tradition of national literature is developed. Special attention is given to the allusions to the novel "In Search of Lost Time” by Marcel Proust. The type of the hero-artist and stages of his creative development are studied in detail. Philosophy of creativity expressed in the novel is determined in the context of the philosophical ideas of Korzybski and Baudrillard. The author concludes the paper with the account of the transformation of the genre tradition of the novel about artist in post-modern culture and an increasing complexity of the creative problems in Houellebecq’s works.