The Munich School refers to the artistic movement of the 19th century represented by artists who studied at the Royal Academy of Arts in Munich, one of the most important artistic institutions of the time, with students from all over Europe. In Greece, the Munich School signals the beginning of neohellenic art and coincides chronologically with the beginning of modern Greek history.
The historical period in which the artists of the Munich School emerged is marked by the Kapodistrias administration, the uprising of 1843, and the Bavarian monarchy of King Otto. The elevation of Otto I to King of Greece (1832) influenced not only the political, social, and economic scene but also the artistic developments in the newly founded capital.
In this historical context,
"Αrt is called upon to contribute to the formation of the new society as a catalytic shaping force, rediscovering its primary function" (Lampraki-Plaka, 2013).
The "Italianate" art of the Ionian Islands, mainly religious as well as folk art of previous centuries did not fulfill the ideology and vision of the newly established kingdom, which sought its identity from the glorious ancient Greek past. Greek painters went to study abroad as they searched matters of identity, ending up in the popular artistic centers of Europe, primarily, Munich.
At the encouragement of King Otto, many Greek artists received scholarships to study at the Royal Academy of Arts in Munich. There, Ludwig I, Otto's father and a supporter of classicism and ancient Greek art, had created "Athens on the banks of Isar." In this great intellectual and artistic center, Greek painters rediscover Greece, from a Bavarian perspective, as a homeland of vision and grandeur.
Simultaneously, Bavarian artists are encouraged to visit Athens to be inspired and create relevant works. Among the persons in this Exhibition is Peter von Hess, a teacher at the Bavarian Academy, who was commissioned by Ludwig I to illustrate the heroes and events of the Greek Revolution of 1821. For this purpose, Peter von Hess accompanied Otto to Greece to visit the places where these epic feats took place.
With Otto departing in 1862, Bavarian rule was abolished at state level. Meanwhile though, the learnings from the Royal Academy injected into Greek Art reached home, as the first Greek painters trained to work with the ideals of the Bavarian Academy return- as teachers themselves at the newly established School of Arts.
It is true that Bavarian influence shaped both the style (the artistic language of the Munich artists is known as "academic realism") and the thematic choices of the painters. Historical painting dominated at first, with depictions of battles from the Revolution and heroic deeds, followed by portraiture.
Gradually, artists choose ethography (a kind of didactic or gentrified genre painting), painting scenes mainly from rural and urban life and landscapes. Representatives of the Munich School were virtuosos in color usage, and their works were characterized by narrative mood and design precision. Special emphasis is placed on the detailed depiction of architectural structures, clothing, and objects.
However, it is evident that the School's inclination toward the representation of history and portraiture did not limit the thematic choices of students nor suppress the creation of a personal style. Many artists distanced themselves from the academic spirit of Munich and were influenced by other European artistic centers, adopting different techniques and engaging with new trends.
The precursor and founder of the Munich School is Theodoros Vryzakis, the first Greek student at the Bavarian Academy (accepted in 1844) and the main representative of historical painting. He draws his subjects from the Greek Revolution and often borrows compositional schemes from foreign artists, which he adapts and executes with remarkable refinement. Due to their thematology, many of Vryzakis' works became widely reproduced (lithographs, etc.), enhancing their popularity.
In 1860, one of the most significant representatives of the Munich School and a pioneer in the formation of Fine Arts education in Greece, Nikiforos Lytras, moved to the Bavarian capital. A student of Karl von Piloty, upon his return to Athens, he was appointed professor of painting at the School of Arts, where he taught for 38 years, exerting a decisive influence on the artistic scene of the newly established state.
Notable painters such as Georgios Iakovidis, Polychronis Lembesis, Periklis Pantazis, Georgios Roilos, and Nikolaos Vokos studied under him. Lytras' painting is all about ethography, and he is credited with some of the most significant portraits in Greek art, with his work also extending to historical and mythological scenes. Although he remained committed to the Munich School until the end, he encouraged his students to experiment.
A close friend of Nikiforos Lytras and one of the most important Greek painters of the 19th century, Nikolaos Gyzis studied at the School of Arts and received a scholarship to the Munich Academy in 1865. He also studied under Piloty. After a brief visit to Athens, he returned to Munich, where he was elected professor at the Bavarian Academy in 1888, remaining there until the end of his life. He created works of rare skill within the limits of historical realism and ethography. In his later creative period, he made a leap toward allegorical painting and symbolism.
Georgios Iakovidis, a student of Nikiforos Lytras and Leonidas Drosis at the School of Arts, received a scholarship from the Greek state and left for Munich in 1877, where they studied at the Bavarian Academy. Later, Iakovides founded his own school in Munich and returned to Greece in 1900 as the first curator of the newly established National Gallery. During his stay in Munich, his works were dominated by ethnographic scenes depicting the everyday life of Bavarians. He distinguished himself as a painter of children's scenes, portraiture, and floral still lifes.
Another member of the "Munich group" is Konstantinos Volanakis, one of the most significant Greek sea painters of the 19th century. Volanakis moved to Munich in 1860 and was also a student of Piloty. His seascapes, depicting historical events that took place at sea, or capturing night views of ports, were a reference point for most seascape artists of the 20th century.
In 1865, besides Gyzis, the following artists were enrolled at the Academy: Ioannis Doukas, Ioannis Zacharias, and Georgios Vitalis. In 1866, Ioannis Vitsaris began his studies, followed by Periklis Pantazis in 1871 and Polychronis Lembesis in 1875. In 1880, many artists were admitted to the Royal Academy: Simeon Savvidis, Konstantinos Panorios, Emmanouil Lambakis, Alexandros Philadelfeas, Georgios Chatzopoulos, Nikolaos Vokos, Evangelos Ioannidis, Dimitrios Georgantas, and Georgios Roilos.
During the last decade of the century, the following students attended the School: Nikolaos Ferekidis, Emmanouil Zairis, Stelios Miliadis, Phrixos Aristeas (who, like his teacher Nikolaos Gyzis, was influenced by symbolism), Dimitrios Geraniotis, Thomas Thomopoulos, and Aristeidis Laios. Many of those moved away from the style of the School and were influenced by other more innovative artistic movements.
The artists who passed through the Munich School in the early 20th century quickly rejected academicism and supported the new trends. Among them were Nikolaos Lytras, Spyridon Vikatos, Hector Doukas, Umbertos Argyrοs, Nikolaos Othonaios, Georgios Bouzianis, and Theofrastοs Triantafyllidis.
"It is overlooked that without the substantial artistic education completed in Munich, Greek art would not have had the opportunity to advance as quickly as it did in embracing new forms. It would not have had the chance to know and utilize thematic and stylistic directions that set the tone in Europe. It would not even have had the technical foundation to undertake significant new efforts, nor to turn with greater confidence to other artistic centers, such as Paris, later" (Christou, 1992).
This positive assessment of the contribution of the Munich School to the evolution of modern Greek art reflects "one side of the story" as the evaluation of Munich's influence on the course of modern Greek art is characterized by differing opinions.
It seems that several writers, poets, painters, and art historians would have liked a different starting point for modern Greek art, and the Munich School has often been criticized as a bearer and transmitter of a barren academic conservatism that negatively impacted the course of Greek art. Many believed that Greek art should be only adhering to the Parisian avant-garde. Other critics of the School argued for a more "pure" Greek directoion, continuing post-Byzantine and folk traditions.
However, as Lampraki-Plaka (2013) aptly points out:
"Ultimately, the character and quality of artistic creation are not defined by the centers that illuminate it but by the horizon of expectations of the audience to whom it is addressed. And it is obvious: every form of innovation and revolution in art presupposes a long artistic tradition and a social group, even if small, that will accept and support it. These prerequisites were dramatically absent from the young kingdom. It would take more than half a century of free life for the historical and social conditions of an artistic renaissance to be established."
This Exhibition highlights the works of Greek artists who studied at the Royal Academy of Arts in Munich, focusing on twenty-five painters who were trained in Munich during the second half of the 19th century.
It is an introduction to the first creators of the New Greek State, whose works illustrate the early chapters of neohellenic art and reflect the process of shaping the identity of the newborn state while taking various paths: from Academic Realism, Historical Painting, Ethography, Portraiture and Landscape painting to Impressionism, Expressionism, Symbolism, and Jugendstil.
