TheMastos Painter (fl. mid-6th century BC) was a painter ofancient Greek vases. He is named for ablack-figuremastos used by theart historian John Boardman to illustrate the type, which is shaped like a woman's breast (Greekmastos).[1]
The Mastos Painter belonged to the circle of theLysippides Painter.[2] The work for which he was named depictsDionysus, two horse-leggedsatyrs orsilens,[3] andHermes as they "gaze admiringly" atAriadne holding the infantOinopion, her child with Dionysus. This "gentle kind of narrative"[4] is characteristic also of theAntimenes Painter, the mature work of theAndokides Painter, andOltos andEpiktetos around 515 BC.[5]
Although the painter takes his name from his exemplarymastos, he also produced work on othervase types. On abelly amphora executed around 525 BC, he depicts an ivy-bearing Dionysus bringing his motherSemele from theunderworld; the god looks back at her as she climbs into achariot drawn by the magnificent pair of horses who dominate the scene. Hermes, wearing his characteristicpetasos hat, carries branches of foliage as he accompanies the horses. Three bearded horse-tailed satyrs of varying size fill out the composition. The largest leaps in amazement on the chariot-shaft, looking back at the recovered Semele; another stands shoulder-height before the horses as he plays anaulos, the double-pipe wind instrument. A third, the smallest figure in the group, stoops beneath the horses, one hand extended toward their bellies and the other grasping hisphallus.
The artistry has been characterized as "gently rounded" and allusive, elastic in its articulation.[6] The female figure has also been identified as Ariadne.[7]
The Mastos Painter also depicts aPanathenaic victory procession on what has been identified as a genuineprize amphora.[8] The scene depicts the winning horse in a race, mounted by the nude boy-jockey holding a pair of branches. An elaborately clothed man stands in front of the horse, patting its muzzle and holding a wreath and branches. He may represent the owner, who would have been considered the victor. The man who stands beside the horse, holding its bridle, is perhaps the trainer. A third well-clad man holding branches stands behind the horse.[9]
The Mastos Painter has also been credited with a black-figure vase depicting thepankration.[10]
