Portrait of a bearded man (Nicodemus) in profile.

Henry Ossawa Tanner drew inspiration from his mentor, Thomas Eakins, and often painted landscapes, scenes of daily life, and later, religious subjects in a realistic style. Tanner's father was a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), which likely influenced his focus on religious subjects later in his career.

The date of this painting is unknown, but is estimated based on dates of Tanner's trips to Palestine. He visited Palestine and Egypt January-April 1897. He made a second trip to the Near East 1898-1899. He visited Algeria in 1908 and Morocco March-June 1912.