Nicholaos Gysis
Encyclopedia
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
's most important 19th-century painters. He was most famous for his work Eros and the Painter, his first genre painting. It was auctioned in May 2006 at Bonhams
Bonhams
Bonhams is a privately owned British auction house founded in 1793. It is the third largest auctioneer after Sotheby's and Christie's, and conducts around 700 auctions per year. It has 700 employees....
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, being last exhibited in Greece in 1928. He was the major representative of the so-called "Munich School", the major 19th-century Greek art movement.
Life
Gyzis was born in the island of TinosTinos
Tinos is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea. It is located in the Cyclades archipelago. In antiquity, Tinos was also known as Ophiussa and Hydroessa . The closest islands are Andros, Delos, and Mykonos...
, which has a long artistic history. As his family settled in Athens in 1850, he soon embarked on a study at the Athens School of Fine Arts
Athens School of Fine Arts
The Athens School of Fine Arts , is Greece's premier art school whose main objective is to develop the artistic talents of its students.-History:Athens School of Fine Arts was established on 12 January 1837, known as the School for the Arts...
. His studies there, formed the foundation of his artistic education and helped him to develop his natural skill in painting.
In 1865, having won a scholarship, he went to continue his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich
Academy of Fine Arts, Munich
The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich was founded 1808 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria in Munich as the "Royal Academy of Fine Arts" and is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany...
, where he settled for the rest of his life. He was very soon incorporated into the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
pictorial climate, and became one of its most characteristic representatives of the Greek artistic movement of the Munich School
Munich School
The most important artistic movement of Greek Art in the 19th century was academic realism, often called in Greece "the Munich School" because of the strong influence from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Munich , where many Greek artists trained.- History :...
. This is expressed in the painting News of Victory of 1871, which deals with the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
, and the painting Apotheosis i Thriamvos tis Vavarias (Apotheosis or Triumph of Bavaria).
From 1886 onward he was professor at the Academy of Munich, and gradually turned from the detailed realistic depictions towards compositions of a singularly impressionistic character. His students included Anna May-Rychter
At the beginning of the 1870s returned to Greece for a period of several years, after which he produced a sequence paintings with more avowedly Greek themes, such as the Carnival at Athens and the Arravoniasmata (Engagement Ceremony) and a little later the painting After the destruction of Psara
Psara
Psara is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. Together with the small uninhabited island of Antipsara it forms the municipality of Psara. It is part of the Chios peripheral unit, which is part of the North Aegean Periphery. The only town of the island and seat of the municipality is also called...
. Towards the end of his life, in the 1890s, he took a turn toward more religious themes, with his best known work of the later period being Triumph of Religion. His works are today exhibited at museums and private collections in Greece, Germany and elsewhere.
Gysis' painting The Secret School was depicted on the reverse
Obverse and reverse
Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags , seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, obverse means the front face of the object and reverse...
of the Greek 200 drachmas
Greek drachma
Drachma, pl. drachmas or drachmae was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history:...
banknote of 1996-2001.
See also
- Munich SchoolMunich SchoolThe most important artistic movement of Greek Art in the 19th century was academic realism, often called in Greece "the Munich School" because of the strong influence from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Munich , where many Greek artists trained.- History :...
- National Gallery of Athens
- Art in modern GreeceArt in modern GreeceModern Greek art is the term used to describe Greek art during the period between the emergence of the new independent Greek state and the 20th century....
- Greek ArtGreek artGreek art began in the Cycladic and Minoan prehistorical civilization, and gave birth to Western classical art in the ancient period...
- Emfietzoglou Gallery