He studied painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts from 1902 to 1906, where he was taught by his father, Nikiforos Lytras, and also by Georgios Jakobides.

[2] While there, he also came under the influence of Der Blaue Reiter, a group of Expressionist painters, and created illustrations for the novel A Tale with No Name by Penelope Delta.

He left Munich to enlist in the Balkan Wars, serving as an officer and making sketches of Turkish fortifications.

Lytras won the position, despite opposition based on the fact that his father was a major representative of the Munich School.

His primary contribution involved changing the structure and role of the workshops; turning them into independent units.