Nikiforos Lytras was born in the village of Pyrgos on Tinos Island in 1832. His father, Antonis Lytras, was a folk marble sculptor and inspired in him a love for artistic expression. From a young age, he had shown signs of his painting talent.

In 1860, N. Lytras found himself in Munich at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, on a state scholarship. At that time, the city was a hub where all the artistic currents and productions of mid-19th century Europe converged.

In 1866, N. Lytras was appointed as a professor of Advanced Painting at the School of Fine Arts in Athens. He would teach there for thirty-eight entire years. During these years, he traveled, primarily with N. Gysis, to the East, Paris, and Munich.