Visit of Nicodemus to Christ
1880
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of William T. Evans
Accession Number
1909.7.37
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the hushed glow of John La Farge's *Visit of Nicodemus Christ* (1880), we witness a pivotal biblical moment from the Gospel of, where the Pharisee Nicodemus secretly visits Jesus by night to discuss spiritual rebirth. This oil painting, now a treasured part of the Smithsonian American Art's collection (gift of William T. Evans), captures intimate tension of the encounter with La Farge's signature mastery of light and color. La Farge, a American artist of the late 19th, blended influences from Pre-Raphaelite detail, Japanese aesthetics, and emerging Impressionism. His innovative techniques—...
About the Artist
John La Farge · 1835–1910
John La Farge (1835–1910) was born into a wealthy French émigré family in New York City, the son of John Frederick La Farge and Louisa Binsse de Saint-Victor. Educated at Jesuit institutions including Mount St. Mary's College in Maryland and St. John's College (now Fordham University), he initially pursued law but turned to art after receiving early drawing lessons from his maternal grandfather, a...