Nikiforos Lytras works on display on island of Tinos
The very first large exhibition of works by Nikiforos Lytras at his birthplace, the island of Tinos, opened recently at the Foundation of Tinos Civilization. Along with paintings and drawings that represent all periods of the artist’s activities, the exhibition will also feature the latest purchase by the Holy Panhellenic Foundation of Tinos’s Evangelistria: Lytras’s «Easter Egg,» which was acquired at a recent Sotheby’s sale in London for 404,932 euros. The exhibition introduces the visitor to Lytras’s first artistic steps and then highlights his ability to combine realistic features and idealistic elements. Lytras was greatly inspired by the exotic places he visited during his travels to Asia Minor and Egypt in the 1870s. Nikiforos Lytras (1832-1904) was born in Pyrgos. He studied at the Art School between 1850 and 1856, under Ludwig Thiersch, the Margaritis brothers and Rafaello Ceccoli, and continued his studies in Munich, on a scholarship from the Greek government. Upon his return to Greece, he was appointed a professor of art at the art school of the National Technical University, where he taught until 1904, the year he died. The works on display are on loan from the Holy Panhellenic Foundation of Tinos’s Evangelistria, the National Gallery, the Bank of Greece, the Foundation of the Rizareios Seminary, The Greek National Library, the president of Michaniki SA, Prodromos Emfietzoglou, and others. The exhibition is accompanied by a richly illustrated catalog. The exhibition, which will run to the end of October, is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. as well as 7 to 9.30 p.m. daily, except Tuesdays, when the Foundation of Tinos Civilization is closed.
