We use cookies to make our site work properly, to personalize content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyze our traffic. We also share information about how you use our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Read the Cookies Policy.
Lytras Nikephoros (1832 - 1904)
The Kiss, before 1878
Oil on canvas, 79 x 69 cm
Ε. Koutlidis Foundation Collection
Inv. Number
Κ.139
On view
Main Building
In “The Kiss”, the scene is set in a courtyard, in which a slender girl is rising on the tips of her tows in order to kiss her beloved, whose head can be seen through the window high up. The lily in the pot symbolises purity, while its slender stem echoes the slender girl’s motion. Ochre and white prevail, along with some red on the girl’s fez. The latter colour was a favourite of Nikephoros Lytras’. The abandoned slipper suggests the girl’s rush to meet her beloved, while at the same time marking space, that is, making us part of the scene.