Nicholas and his father Andreas Ritzos are the forefathers of the Cretan school of painting.
Their painting style was the typical Venetian influenced maniera greca in Crete.
His contemporaries were Andreas Pavias, Nikolaos Tzafouris, and Angelos Akotantos.
[6] On September 11, 1499, he was hired by a monk of Mount Sinai who was in Heraklion named Gerasimos Kypraios to guard 24 important items.
The archives stipulate that in the event the monk died Nicholas would send 16 icons to the monastery of Agios Antonio on the island of Rhodes.
His signature was χείρ Νικολάου Ρίτζου υός του μαΐστρου Ανδρέου [8]