Christ with Nicodemus
There is a painting by Hendrick van Steenwijck the Younger called Christ with Nicodemus that looks nothing like how I imagine this scene. I imagine this scene well-lit and outdoors, maybe on a hill or by a body of water –somewhere where Jesus can shine as an impressive public speaker. I imagine Nicodemus as a confrontational know-it-all, being put in his place by his teacher. I imagine Jesus delivering his most famous line, the one that gets stamped on shopping bags and memorized by all Sunday School students, with annunciated aplomb so that the any bystanders would perk up and take note. I imagine this scene as a spectacle, a Save The World campaign launch hosted by the One who promises eternal life. There is little in the text to suggest that it played out this way; the meanings of Nicodemus' questions and Jesus' answers have become hyperbolic in my imagination, stretched and warped out of shape. Viewing van Steenwijck's painting disoriented me, and then reoriented me to imagine what could be happening instead in Nicodemus' visit.
The painting is a mere 13 x 21 cm, about the size of a book, something you could hold in your hand. The scene is set indoors –a dark, domestic interior like any Dutch baroque painting. To the left is someone washing or cooking, and to the right one person is reading and another sits staring into the fire –none of these people are our characters from Scripture. Instead, two figures can be seen in a room recessed in the background. They wear ancient robes unlike the then-contemporary clothing of the others in the painting. The light from the candle illuminates their faces, creating a halo around the one figure who is gesturing. The image is so small, it's hard to see that it's Jesus at all. Besides, there are too many distracting things in the foreground before we can get to Jesus: There's a basin of water, a basket of bread and a jug across the floor; there's a wooden broom intersecting the threshold of the anteroom; there's the people who are so far away from and not paying attention to Jesus that the eye is confused where the action is or where it should rest.
But in this image, Nicodemus is captivated, attending to Christ in the quiet intimacy of their conversation. Nicodemus has managed to get past all that could trip him up, including the activity and the contemplation happening in the next room. In this image, Christ radiates light in the darkness in order for Nicodemus to see.
Loving God, You so loved the world and gave us Jesus, who illuminates the night, to whom we can seek and draw close, with whom we may ask questions and receive Your word. Thank you for the gift of Your Son, lifted up for our sake, in whose name we pray. Amen.
https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/christ-with-nicodemus-219735
Kate Miller