Spyridon Vikatos ( el, Σπυρίδων Βικάτος; 24 September 1878 – 6 June 1960) was a Greek painter, one of the later members of the

Munich School Munich School ( el, Σχολή του Μονάχου) is the name given to a group of painters who worked in Munich or were trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Munich (german: Münchner Akademie der Bildenden Künste) between 1850 and 19 ...

Life

Spyridon Vikatos was born in

Argostoli Argostoli ( el, Αργοστόλι, Katharevousa: Ἀργοστόλιον) is a town and a municipality on the island of Kefalonia, Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2019 local government reform it is one of the three municipalities on the island ...

, Cephalonia, in 1878. He was assisted by the German Archbishop of Athens to study painting at the

Athens School of Fine Arts The Athens School of Fine Arts (ASFA; el, Ανωτάτη Σχολή Καλών Τεχνών, ΑΣΚΤ, literally: Highest School of Fine Arts), is Greece's premier Art school whose main objective is to develop the artistic talents of its students. ...

, where he was taught by

Nikiforos Lytras Nikiforos Lytras ( el, Νικηφόρος Λύτρας; 1832 – 13 June 1904) was a Greek painter. He was born in Tinos and trained in Athens at the School of Arts. In 1860, he won a scholarship to Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Munich. After co ...

and

Spyridon Prosalentis Spyridon Prosalentis ( el, Σπυρίδων Προσαλέντης; Corfu, 1830 – Athens, 1895) was a Greek portrait painter of the Heptanese School. His first name is sometimes seen as Spyros. Biography Prosalentis was descended from a noble ...

. He went on to the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich where he studied with

Nikolaos Gyzis Nikolaos Gyzis ( el, Νικόλαος Γύζης ; german: Nikolaus Gysis; 1 March 1842 – 4 January 1901) was considered one of Greece's most important 19th century painters. He was most famous for his work '' Eros and the Painter'', his first ...

and

Ludwig von Löfftz Ludwig von Löfftz (21 June 1845 – 3 December 1910) was a German genre and landscape painter. Biography He was born at Darmstadt. He was a pupil of August von Kreling and Karl Raupp at Nuremberg, then of Wilhelm von Diez at the Academy of F ...

. He was awarded the silver medal and a prize in a drawing competition in 1903. He returned to Athens and taught at the School of Fine Arts from 1909 until 1940. Sofia Zengo Papadhimitri, Yiannis Spyropoulos and

Victor Ioannides The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

were among his pupils. Another of his pupils was Sophia Laskaridou. He died in Athens in 1960.

Work

Vikatos mainly painted portraits and genre subjects. His paintings show the influence of German academicism and also of the 17th century

Flemish School Early Netherlandish painting, traditionally known as the Flemish Primitives, refers to the work of artists active in the Burgundian Netherlands, Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands during the 15th- and 16th-century Northern Renaissance period. ...

. To a lesser extent he painted historical and religious compositions, still lifes, landscapes. He is noted for his depictions of old people, either alone or in larger compositions. Vikatos participated in solo, group and international exhibitions, including the Bordeaux International Exposition in 1907 (gold medal), Rome in 1911, Paris in 1937 and the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

in 1934 and 1936. in 1937 he received the national Medal of Arts and Letters, and in 1951 the Academy of Munich elected him an honorary member of the Fine Arts. Some of his work is held by the

Municipal Art Gallery of Ioannina The Municipal Art Gallery of Ioannina ( el, Δημοτική Πινακοθήκη Ιωαννίνων) is an art museum in Ioannina, Greece that has been open in its current building since 2000. The collection of over 500 items ranges from classical ...

and the Municipal Art Gallery of Chania.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vikatos, Spyridon 1878 births 1960 deaths Greek artists Munich School People from Argostoli Academic staff of the Athens School of Fine Arts Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 19th-century Greek painters 20th-century Greek painters