The Evolution of the Pan Painter's Artistic Style

Abstract

In this article the author explores the decorative style of the Pan Painter in order to distance him from the so-called Mannerists and highlight the three-dimensional nature of his artistry. An analysis of his oeuvre reveals traits shared with the Berlin Painter and thus revives Christiane Sourvinou-Inwood's suggestion that the Pan Painter was a shop-boy under Myson and later an apprentice to the Berlin Painter. Attention is given to the Pan Painter's treatment of costume, which enlivened his figures and compositions in a manner suiting the range of iconographic types and vessel shapes with which he worked. Thanks to the modern tendency in our publications to flatten images from Athenian pots by rendering them as two-dimensional artworks, it has become difficult to appreciate fully the artistry of vase painters. 1 I make this observation to bring attention to the fact that some Attic pot painters did not merely paint pictures on awkwardly shaped surfaces, but used their artistry to enhance the overall appearance of each individual pot. In this article I seek an understanding of the Pan Painter, the Classical Attic pot decorator named for his memorable depiction of the woodland god chasing a shepherd on a bell krater in Boston (Figs. 1, 2). 2 The Pan Painter probably worked in the Early Classical period, from 480 to at least 460 B.C. 3 I do not take it for granted that this painter-or any other, for that matter-chose to paint pots because that was all there was to paint. The skills of an artist who was as good a draftsman as the Pan Painter would have been useful in any medium. It seems, therefore, to have been more a matter of choice.