Christus bij Nicodemus 1616 - 1674

Pieter de Jode the Younger created this drawing of Christ and Nicodemus in pen and brown ink, with a brown wash, sometime in the 17th century. The subject is a meeting at night between Jesus and Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Jewish ruling council, as told in the Gospel of John. Nicodemus recognizes Jesus as a teacher sent by God and comes to him seeking enlightenment. This intimate, nocturnal scene is rendered in the style of the Dutch Baroque, with its dramatic use of light and shadow. It echoes the religious and political climate of the Dutch Golden Age. While the Protestant Reformation had taken hold in the Netherlands, there was still a significant Catholic population, and religious tolerance was a complex and contested issue. Drawings such as this one reflect a turn to personal piety. To understand this work better, we might turn to religious texts, historical documents, and studies of the art market and artistic patronage in the 17th-century Netherlands.