Rizos was a friend of Renoir and associated with the Impressionists, and much admired Degas' work after he first moved to Paris, but his own style was academic. Many of his paintings portray elegantly dressed women; he less often painted landscapes, in an Impressionist-influenced style. He exhibited a number of times at the Paris salons, beginning with a portrait of his sister, Mrs. Paparrigopoulos, which he re-worked for the 1878 Paris exposition. In 1875 his portrait of "Miss R." in a black silk dress with violet sleeves was noted by one critic as one of the finest portraits in the show. In 1877 his "Indolence", a nude, was praised by one critic except for the execution of the head, and by another praised for the colouration but faulted for the drawing, particularly of the hands and feet.