Nymph and Cupid 1897

Nikolaos Gyzis painted “Nymph and Cupid” towards the end of the nineteenth century. In it, we see an ethereal scene with a winged nymph, a mythological spirit of nature, embracing the naked god of love. Gyzis made this image at a time when Greece was emerging as an independent nation. The artwork is an interesting example of cultural nationalism in that period. It draws on a classical past but it updates it for modern sensibilities. Gyzis studied at the Munich Academy so we can see the influence of German romanticism in his approach to the nude and the use of allegory. The classical world was a very important source of cultural identity for the newly formed Greek state, and it was promoted by institutions such as museums and art schools. To understand this image better, one should investigate institutional histories and social conditions of nineteenth-century Greece. Such research will reveal how artists like Gyzis were instrumental in shaping the cultural identity of their nation.