In white, he sits and listens, a hand to his face.
Bible in art · John
Interview between Jesus and Nicodemus (Entretien de Jésus et de Nicodème)
James Tissot · 1886–1894
Brooklyn Museum, New York
Nicodemus came by night, and Tissot set their talk in a bare room lit by a single small lamp. The two men sit close together on a mat on a raised platform; Nicodemus, older and bearded, leans in and holds Jesus by the hand.
The rest of the room is quiet and empty: a shelf of plates, a lattice window, two pairs of sandals left on the floor in front of the platform.
From the text
- “He came to Jesus at night” (John 3:2)
- “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God” (John 3:2)
The artist’s own
- The lamp on a little folding stand
- Sandals left on the floor, as when entering a house
Details
Jesus
Nicodemus
A bearded man in a brown cloak leans close.
The lamp
A small lamp burns on a folding stand.
Sandals
Two pairs of sandals lie on the floor.
James Tissot, French, 1836–1902. Brooklyn Museum, New York (Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.64) · Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper · Brooklyn Museum (Commons file page, «Permission»): "This image was uploaded by the Brooklyn Museum as a content partnership, and is considered to have no known copyright restrictions by the institutions of the Brooklyn Museum." — "No known copyright restrictions".