A great line in Christoph Cardinal Schönborn's
God Sent His Son: A Contemporary Christology, which I'm currently reading with my students in my Jesus course:
Indeed, the development of Christian art is comprehensible only on the basis of the Nicene Creed, for if the Son were only a creature, albeit the first among creatures [and not, of his very nature, God – my clarification], then venerating the image of Christ would be idolatry, since worship is due only to God.
I know I've dealt with those ideas in the context of the later controversy over icons in the 7th century, but I don't think I've ever so neatly seen it tied to the affirmation of the divinity of Jesus made at Nicea. Nice!
If Christ is truly human, it is possible to paint his image.
If Christ is truly God, that image is worthy of veneration (and not idolatry).