Excerpt from Dr. Nelly Misirli's book (pages 114-116)

Another artwork that has a similar style, theme, and period to Orphani (the Orphan Girl) is The Bride to be to Be or the Betrothed (catalogue no. 47), which must have been created during Lytras' second visit to Munich.
The information at the back of the painting, written in German by the owner and dated August 19, 1877, states "I personally bought this painting from the artist N. Lytras for 300 DM and after my death, I bequeath it to my daughter Effi." This suggests that the painting was created in Munich and sold by the artist himself to the German owner, Idar Moser, who signed the note.

The same composition, with some differences, was exhibited in the Panhellenic exhibition at Zappeion in 1888 and was published in the monograph of Lytras by Xenophon Sochos (catalogue no. 109). This indicates that the artwork was a repetition of the first conception, which had been sold many years earlier (catalogue no. 48).

The work shows a young woman in a white dress, sitting in profile on a chair in a sparsely decorated rustic room. As she stays up late to prepare her dowries, she has momentarily fallen asleep, with her arms folded and her head bowed slightly. She is portrayed as a simple, beautiful and hardworking woman, a typical Greek daughter of the countryside. The scene exudes absolute peace and tranquillity, and this is contributed not only by the austerity of the space but also by the cohesion of colors, with the amazing white and minimal red in the clothes and the humble flowers in the vase.

Also, here it should be emphasized that Lytras begins with a series of works to establish compositions according to the standards of French and German painting, with one or two faces, in order to highlight characteristic forms of Greek life. As an image, The Bride to Be is directly linked to the work of Ludwig Knaus, which depicts a woman sitting in a chair with half-closed eyes caressing her cat (1856) and this in turn to Gustav Courbet's wife, who has the same pose falling asleep, while spinning wool with her spindle (1853).

Nelly Misirli
LYTRAS
National Bank of Greece, 2009 Athens

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Translated Extracts from letters confirming authentication by Dr Nelly Misirli
From the Personal Archive of Iacovos Georgiades

Athens, 6/3/2002

Dear Mr Georgiades,

…I am currently studying the work of Nikiforos Lytras and the Director Marina Lambraki-Plaka has given me a photograph of your work by Lytras The Bride to Be.
I am writing to ask firstly for permission to publish your very important painting and secondly if I could please have a slide of the work (taken by a professional photographer), which is imperative for high quality reproduction….

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Athens, 8/4/2002

Dear Mr Georgiades,

Yesterday I received the two slides that you were kind enough to send to me and I am most grateful. The work is extremely beautiful, you must be happy to have it.

I find it very significant that 1877 is the original date of the purchase from Lytras himself. Nevertheless this raises questions that I will investigate as much as possible. The work was exhibited for the first time in 1888 in Greece at the exhibition of the Olympion. In a book about Lytra published in 1929, that work is illustrated, and it is a different version from your work. The girl in that version wears a wedding ring, but in yours she doesn’t and there are differences in the decor. In the retrospective exhibition of Lytras that was held after his death a version of The Bride to Be appears with a note stating it belonged to Stephanos Ralli.

In my opinion your work was executed in Munich between 1874-1875 whilst he was there. 1877 is the date the lady wrote a note and bequeathed the work to her daughter. Lytras worked in Munich and produced work in a two year period whilst he was there. We know this from a letter Gyzis wrote to his parents, where he says that Lytras worked during the day like crazy and in the evenings read Ploutarchos. I believe Lytras returned to Greece with a photograph of the work he did in Munich, and painted a new version of the work with small changes and sold it to the Ralli family. That would explain how the work appeared in Greece in 1888.

This is all very important for me, and I imagine for you as well, having discovered that you have the original version, that until now was unknown….

Dr Nelly Misirli
Director of Collections and Programming
The National Gallery, Greece

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Evaluation of Nikiforos Lytras' Painting Using Scientific Diagnostic Methods

Scientific microscopic observation, along with images derived from IR, IRT, and IRFC photography, help reveal significant elements that are not visible in a painting.

One of the two important paintings (74 x 58 cm) titled "THE BRIDE TO BE" or "THE ARAVONIASMENI" by Nikiforos Lytras has undergone these scientific diagnostic methods. Initially, these examinations indicated that the work is in very good condition.

The ultraviolet radiation examinations showed that the painting had some minor damage and therefore had undergone restoration a few decades ago, which included relining the canvas and minor retouching interventions.

Regarding the depicted person, and specifically the hand, no engagement ring was visible on the finger where this ring is usually found. At this specific point, the minor damage did not extend to the entire finger but only to part of it. Unfortunately, during the colour restoration interventions, the conservator completely covered the finger and a significant portion of the ring, which had not been damaged. Thus, for decades, this very important work has been known to us with the finger of "THE ARAVONIASMENI" without an engagement ring. Infrared photography at this point revealed that under the conservator’s retouching, a large portion of the ring remains as originally placed on the finger by the painter Nikiforos Lytras.

Additionally, infrared photography around the head of "THE ARAVONIASMENI" revealed important information regarding the painting execution of the head. It appears that the painter, after finishing the head, decided it should be smaller and thus made this change. Therefore, the infrared photograph reveals this alteration, which is not visible to the naked eye since the painter covered it with the colors of the room's wall.

Furthermore, the identification of the painter's signature is difficult with the naked eye. The faded inscription of the painter is located at the very bottom right corner in black, among older retouches that covered micro-damages in this area, resulting in some letters being missing due to damage and others being illegible due to overlays. The letters "L" and "Y" appear very faint and punctuated by damage, while the following letters "TRAS" are somewhat more discernible. The letter "N," which the painter usually placed at the beginning, is entirely absent due to more intense damage in that area.

Kostas Gerasimou
BA in restoration of works of art, antiquities and museology.

The full “Scientific Analysis Report” can be supplied on request.

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Nikiforos Lytras
1832-1904

Nikiforos Lytras was one of the leading representatives of the School of Munich and is considered to be the father of modern Greek painting. Though he was acquainted with impressionism, he remained faithful to the academic tradition and was involved with nearly all forms of subject matter: portraits, still lifes, historical scenes and mythological themes. But the most important part of his work consisted of genre scenes, which he, in essence, introduced to Greek painting and which contain scenes from the Greek provinces and the urban area, the Greek family and the world of the child, as well as other subjects from the further East.
He is also considered to have been an innovator in the sector of portraiture, where his endeavour to penetrate into the psychology of the figure being depicted, can be readily seen.
His teaching contribution was also of great importance, decisively influencing the following generations through his nearly forty years at the Athens School of Arts during which he undertook large-scale endeavours for the upgrading of the lessons and the reorganization of the arts department.