Who Is In The Picture Of Jesus

The long history of how Jesus came to resemble a white European

The post was published on July 22, 2020, and the update was published on July 22, 2020. By Anna Swartwood House, [email protected], University of South Carolina No one knows what Jesus looked like, and there are no known photos of him during his time on the earth. According to art history professor Anna Swartwood House’s article published in The Conversation, the depictions of Christ have had a tortuous history and have had a variety of functions throughout history. When it comes to portraying Jesus as a white, European guy, there has been heightened scrutiny during this era of reflection on the history of racism in our culture.

Prominent scholars, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, have urged for a reexamination of Jesus’ image as a white man in the gospels.

1350 to 1600 and how it has changed through time.

However, the image of Jesus that has been replicated the most is from a different historical period.

Sallman, a former commercial artist who specialized in creating artwork for advertising campaigns, was successful in marketing this photograph across the world.

Sallman’s painting is the culmination of a lengthy tradition of white Europeans who have created and disseminated images of Christ that are in their own image.

In search of the holy face

Several first-century Jews from Galilee, a region in biblical Israel, shared the same brown eyes and skin tone as the actual Jesus, according to speculation. No one, however, is certain about Jesus’ physical appearance. In addition, there are no known photos of Jesus during his lifetime, and whereas the Old Testament kings Saul and David are specifically described in the Bible as “tall and attractive,” there is no evidence of Jesus’ physical appearance in either the Old or New Testaments. Even these passages are in conflict with one another: The prophet Isaiah writes that the coming messiah “had no beauty or majesty,” yet the Book of Psalms states that he was “fairer than the children of mankind,” with the term “fair” referring to physical attractiveness on his person.

that the earliest representations of Jesus Christ appeared, amidst worries about idolatry.

Early Christian painters frequently used syncretism, which is the combination of visual formats from other civilizations, in order to clearly show their functions.

In some popular portrayals, Christ is depicted as wearing the toga or other qualities associated with the emperor.

Viladesau says that Christ’s mature bearded appearance, with long hair in the “Syrian” manner, combines elements of the Greek god Zeus with the Old Testament character Samson, among other things.

Christ as self-portraitist

Portraits of Christ that were considered authoritative likenesses were thought to be self-portraits: the miraculous “image not formed by human hands,” or acheiropoietos, which means “image not made by human hands.” This belief dates back to the seventh century A.D., and it is based on a legend that Christ healed King Abgar of Edessa in modern-day Urfa, Turkey, through a miraculous image of his face, now known as the Mandylion.

The Mandylion is a miraculous image of Christ’s face that was created by the Holy Spirit.
If we look at it from the standpoint of art history, these objects served to strengthen an already established picture of a bearded Christ with shoulder-length, black hair.
Some people did this to express their identification with Christ’s human suffering, while others did it to make a statement about their own creative potential.
In this, he posed in front of the camera as if he were an icon, his beard and luxurious shoulder-length hair evoking Christ’s own.

In whose image?

Interestingly, this phenomena was not limited to Europe: there are 16th- and 17th-century paintings of Jesus that include elements from Ethiopia and India, for example. The image of a light-skinned European Christ, on the other hand, began to spread throughout the world as a result of European commerce and colonization in the early centuries. The “Adoration of the Magi” by the Italian painter Andrea Mantegna, painted in A.D. 1505, depicts three separate magi, who, according to one contemporaneous story, came from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, adoring the infant Jesus.

However, Jesus’ fair complexion and blue eyes show that he was not born in the Middle East, but rather in Europe.

Anti-Semitic beliefs were already widespread among the majority Christian population in Mantegna’s Italy, and Jewish people were frequently divided into their own districts of large towns, according to Mantegna.

A move toward the Christianity symbolized by Jesus might be signified by even seemingly insignificant characteristics such as pierced ears (earrings were traditionally connected with Jewish women, and their removal with a conversion to Christianity).

Much later, anti-Semitic groups in Europe, especially the Nazis, would strive to completely separate Jesus from his Judaism in favor of an Aryan caricature, a move that was ultimately successful.

White Jesus abroad

As Europeans conquered ever-more-distant regions, they carried a European Jesus with them to share with the people. Jesuit missionaries developed painting schools where new converts might learn about Christian art in the European tradition. It was created in the school of Giovanni Niccol, the Italian Jesuit who founded the “Seminary of Painters” in Kumamoto, Japan in 1590. The altarpiece, which is small in size, combines a traditional Japanese gilt and mother-of-pearl shrine with a painting of a distinctly white, European Madonna and Child.

Saint Rose of Lima, the first Catholic saint to be born in “New Spain,” is shown in a picture by artist Nicolas Correa from 1695, in which she is seen metaphorically married to a blond, light-skinned Christ.

Legacies of likeness

Edward J. Blumand is a scholar. During the decades after European colonization of the Americas, some say that images of a white Christ were connected with the logic of empire and could be used to justify the persecution of Native and African Americans. Paul Harvey makes this argument. Although America is a mixed and uneven society, the media portrayal of a white Jesus was disproportionately prominent. A huge majority of performers who have represented Jesus on television and in films have been white with blue eyes, and this is not limited to Warner Sallman’s Head of Christ.

It is true that representation matters, and viewers must be aware of the intricate history of the pictures of Christ that they see and absorb.
See the source article for more information.
Raphael is an artist who creates collections.
Inform your social network connections about what you are reading about by posting on their pages.

Where Did the Popular Image of Jesus Come From?

It is the face that is recognized all over the world. Despite the fact that it may occur in a variety of skin tones, the general traits remain consistent: long hair, a beard, and a slim and melancholy face. This face is shown in paintings, sculptures, crucifixes, and films, among other mediums. It is the visage that everyone instinctively recognizes as that of Jesus Christ. According to our article “What Did and Didn’t Jesus Look Like? “, however, this is not the case. The Bible provides relatively little information regarding Jesus’ physical appearance.

The following are examples of common variances in the representation of Jesus and what He might have looked like in real life:

It is more likely that Jesus would have had short hair than than long hair. If He had a darker complexion instead of pale skin, he would have been more attractive. His macho and robust appearance would have been preferred over his weak and frail one.

Where did the popular representation of Jesus originate from, therefore, if it was not taken from the Scriptures themselves? Why do painters, sculptors, and film makers depict Jesus with these characteristics again and over again? You might be surprised by what history reveals!

Did the early Christian Church have images of Jesus?

The persons who were closest to Jesus did not record any creative depictions of His physical appearance. This wasn’t merely a clerical error due to the fact that they were overloaded. It is clear that the New Testament has taken great care in chronicling the most important aspects concerning Jesus’ life—but, interestingly, there are few specifics regarding His look in the text. There is no artistic representation of Him drawn by one of His contemporaries that we can discover. What is the reason that there are no paintings or sketches of Jesus that date back to His time period?

In fact, He will rise up before Him like a fragile plant, and like a root emerging from dry ground.
In the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Holy Bible (The Holy Bible, New King James Version 1982 by Thomas Nelson”>Isaiah 53:2), He wasn’t just any ordinary man—He was God shown in the flesh (1 John 4:14).
14 Furthermore, we saw His glory, the glory as befitting the only born Son of God who was full of grace and truth, as He came to dwell among us.
“My Lord and my God!” Thomas said as he responded to the Lord.
Because they had diligently kept the Ten Commandments, they applied the Second Commandment to Jesus, which was a violation of the law.
Please see our article “The Second Commandment: You Shall Not Carve a Carved Image” for additional information on God’s ban against idols and icons.
Acts 17:29, New King James Version (NKJV)The Holy Bible, New King James Version 1982 by Thomas Nelson”>The Holy Bible, New King James Version”>Acts 17:29).

As Paul put it, attempts to represent God through pictures were confined to “days of ignorance” (30).

Verse 30 of the New King James Version (NKJV)The Holy Bible, New King James Version 1982 by Thomas Nelson”>The Holy Bible, New King James Version Paul was attempting to resist idolatry, which was a significant feature of the Greco-Roman civilization in which he lived.

Images were placed in every home to receive adoration; libations were poured out to the gods at every festival; and images were worshiped at every municipal or provincial ritual in which they were present.

41).

19, No.

29; ” Popular Belief and the Image of the Beardless Christ,” Visual Resources, Vol.

19, No. 1, p. 29). It is apparent from scriptural and historical evidence that the early Church did not have any representations of Jesus on its walls. So, how did pictures and symbols make their way into the mainstream of Christian belief and practice?

How images of Jesus crept into Christianity

Following the completion of the New Testament period, a number of significant shifts occurred in Christian thought. Despite the fact that a small number of true Christians continued to exist after the death of the original apostles, most of Christianity gradually began to change into a religion that showed little resemblance to the Church portrayed in the book of Acts. More information about the evolution of Christianity may be found in our article “Was Christianity Designed to Evolve?” The oldest depictions of Jesus that have been discovered have been dated to between A.D.

256, according to archaeological evidence.
Instead of attempting to depict Christ in his natural form, these early pictures used symbols to represent Him.
Throughout these depictions, He is depicted as a young man who is physically healthy and without a beard.
When it comes to definitively recognizing these pictures as Christ, historians have a challenge due to their resemblance to Greco-Roman pagan art, which employed the figure of the shepherd as a symbol of charity (André Grabar’s Origins of Christian Iconography, pp.
We will observe that borrowing from pagan art is a recurrent motif among many of the well-known symbols of Christianity, as we shall see below.
In his book The Conversion of Constantine, historian Paul Johnson writes that “all of the boundaries were broken down when Constantine was converted” (A History of Christianity,pp.

In other words, there had previously been opposition to artistic representations of Jesus; nevertheless, once Constantine adopted Christianity and began rebuilding it in the Roman image, the Greco-Roman practices of worshipping deities through statues and pictures were assimilated into Christian beliefs.

People began to prostrate themselves before them, and many of the more gullible began to worship them as they did.

117).

However, the artwork associated with this newly emergent kind of Christianity did not appear out of nowhere. These pictures were derived from pagan imagery and practices that existed previously.

Where did this face of Jesus image come from?

From about the year 400, representations of Jesus began to appear all over the place: in churches, catacombs, and even on the priests’ garments. Because the painters were unaware of Jesus’ actual physical appearance, they created their own representations of him that have influenced art for hundreds of years. It was artists who blended the most conspicuous qualities of divinity from the Greco-Roman culture into an image of an approximately 30-year-old man, thereby creating the image that is now known as Jesus: the slim, pale, bearded, long-haired Jesus of modern times.

Instead of a skinny man with a beard, early art presents Him as a youthful, physically fit guy with long hair who is clean-shaven, albeit a little effeminate, and who has a beard.
They chose to show Christ in this manner because the male gods of the Greco-Roman pantheon were usually typically depicted with long hair in ancient Greek and Roman art.
By letting his hair down, Christ assumed an atmosphere of divinity that distinguished him from the disciples and passersby who were shown alongside him (Thomas Mathews,The Clash of Gods,1993, pp.
According to several historians, the first depictions of Jesus were directly based on the typical characteristics associated with the sun deity Apollo.
Insofar as he copied the appearance of Apollo or Dionysus, he assumed something of their feminine aspect as well” (ibid., pp.

“His clean-shaven face is more reminiscent of portrayals of Apollo or the youthful Dionysus, Mithras, and other semi-divines or human heroes such as Orpheus, Meleager, and even Hercules.” In addition, the heavenly traits most associated with personal savior deities are brought to mind by a young visage” (Robin Jensen,Understanding Early Christian Art, 2000,p.

It is demonstrated in the Vatican necropolis, where Jesus is represented as a version of Apollo/Helios.
120).
These painters resorted for inspiration to the more powerful and authoritative gods in the Roman pantheon, such as Jupiter (the Roman counterpart of Zeus), Neptune and Serapis.
These attributes of Jesus have made their way into creative representations of him.
283).
283).
… The older and bearded figure presumably indicates Jesus’ authority over the cosmos.

119-120).

At that time, Jesus moved more to a bearded, aged, powerful figure” (Graydon F.

298).

Snyder,Ante Pacem: Archaeological Evidence of Church Life Before Constantine,p.

Notice the pictures of Jupiter, Neptune and Serapis: It was artists who blended the most conspicuous qualities of divinity from the Greco-Roman culture into an image of an approximately 30-year-old man, thereby creating the image that is now known as Jesus: the slim, pale, bearded, long-haired Jesus of modern times.

Warnings about idolatry in the Bible

Imagery of Jesus began to appear in churches, tombs, and even on the robes of priests sometime after the year 400. In light of the fact that the painters were unaware of Jesus’ true look, they created their own representations of him, which have influenced art ever since. It was artists who blended the most significant attributes of divinity from the Greco-Roman culture into an image of an approximately 30-year-old man, thereby creating the image that we know today as Jesus: the slim, pale, bearded, and long-haired Jesus.

Early art presents Him as a youthful, physically healthy, clean-shaven, if slightly effeminate, long-haired guy, rather than as a skinny man with a beard.
As a result, the men in the Greco-Roman pantheon were nearly always shown with long hair, so they chose to portray Christ in this manner.
By letting his hair down, Christ assumed an atmosphere of divinity that distinguished him from the disciples and passersby who were shown alongside him.
126-127).
Please take note of the following insightful quotes: “When Christ is given a young, beardless face and loose, long locks, it assimilates him into the company of Apollo and Dionysus.
126-128).
“The heavenly traits most associated with personal savior gods are recalled by a young visage” (Robin Jensen,Understanding Early Christian Art, 2000,p.

It is demonstrated in the Vatican necropolis, where Jesus is represented as a version of Apollo/Helios.

120).

This group of painters looked to the more powerful and authoritative gods in the Roman pantheon for inspiration, such as Jupiter (the Roman counterpart of Zeus), Neptune, and Serapis, for their inspiration.

These traits of Jesus have made their way into creative representations of the man himself.

283).

… The older and bearded figure presumably indicates Jesus’ authority over the cosmos.

119-120).

At that time, Jesus moved more to a bearded, aged, powerful figure” (Graydon F.

298).

Snyder,Ante Pacem: Archaeological Evidence of Church Life Before Constantine,p.

Notice the pictures of Jupiter, Neptune and Serapis: It was artists who blended the most significant attributes of divinity from the Greco-Roman culture into an image of an approximately 30-year-old man, thereby creating the image that we know today as Jesus: the slim, pale, bearded, and long-haired Jesus.

Develop a biblically accurate image of Jesus

When we attempt to depict God through a physical picture, we lose sight of the whole scope of His majesty and grandeur, which can never be portrayed in stone or on paint, and which must be experienced in person. Instead of observing Him through the lens He provides us in His Word, we perceive Him through the lens of the human imagination. He is in a way transformed into our likeness. Not only do the portrayals of Jesus mischaracterize what He looked like, but they are figures based on false gods of ancient paganism.

Jesus Christ gave a profound comment that was recorded in the year 23.

24 God is Spirit, and those who serve Him must worship in spirit and truth.” New King James Version (NKJV)The Holy Bible, New King James Version ©1982 by Thomas Nelson “> John 4:23-24: “But the hour is coming, and already is, when the genuine worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

a little about the author

Erik Jones

A full-time writer and editor at the Life, Hope, and Truth offices in McKinney, Texas, Erik Jones is a member of the Life, Hope, and Truth team. More information can be found at Read on for more information.

How an iconic painting of Jesus as a white man was distributed around the world

After being printed a billion times, the image came to define what the major figure of Christianity looked like for generations of Christians in the United States – and elsewhere. According to Carr, the director of ministry and administrative support staff of the First Baptist Church of Glenarden in Maryland, Sallman’s Jesus “expressed the image of God” for many years before his death. When she grew up and began to study the Bible on her own, she started to think about the image and the message it carried.

Carr isn’t the first to challenge Sallman’s vision of Jesus and the influence it’s had not only on theology but also on the wider society.
Beginnings are modest.
“Sallman, who died in 1968, was a religious painter and illustrator whose most iconic painting, ‘Head of Christ,’ attained a worldwide notoriety that makes Warhol’s soup can look delightfully obscure,” William Grimes of the Times noted in 1994.
Sallman, a Chicago-based commercial artist who grew up in the church that is now known as the Evangelical Covenant Church, was a member of the denomination that is now known as the Evangelical Covenant Church.
His strategy was successful.

A replica of the original “Head of Christ” was painted by Sallman for the school, but the original “Head of Christ” was sold to the religious publisher Kriebel & Bates, and so was born what Lipan refers to as a “Protestant icon.” According to Matthew Anderson, associate professor of religious studies at Concordia University in Montreal, “this specific picture of Jesus coincided with the start of the ‘Mad Men,’ of the marketing agency.” With little time, the picture traveled swiftly, being printed on prayer cards and distributed by a variety of groups, missionaries, and churches of all denominations: Catholic and Protestant; evangelical; mainline; white; and black.

During World War II, copies of the Bible were distributed to soldiers by the Salvation Army and the YMCA through the United Service Organizations (USO).
A variety of products with the picture were sold to the public including pencils, bookmarks, lamps and clocks.
What the scholar David Morgan has described as a “picture of Jesus” came to pass as a result.
Historically, according to Anderson, it has been usual for individuals to represent Jesus as a member of their own culture or ethnic group.
Morgan, a professor of religious studies at Duke University in North Carolina, agrees.
Morgan pointed out that Sallman was not the first to represent Jesus as a white guy.
However, Morgan explained that when seen against the backdrop of American history, which includes European Christians occupying indigenous countries with the approval of theDoctrine of Discovery and enslaved African people, a global picture of a white Jesus becomes problematic.

The campaign to get white Jesus removed from the curriculum.

These accusations have surfaced again recently, during a national crisis over racism triggered by the killing of George Floyd on May 25, a black man who was shot and killed by police in a confrontation with officers in Minneapolis.

Nnedi Okorafor, a science fiction novelist, shared similar opinion on his Twitter account.

“Yes, the term ‘blond blue-eyed jesus’ IS a type of racial supremacy.” Yes, the concept of “blond blue-eyed jesus” is a manifestation of white supremacy.

The date is June 23, 2020.

According to Butler in a follow-up interview with RNS, Sallman’s Jesus was “the Jesus that you saw in all the black Baptist churches.” According to the researcher, Sallman’s Jesus, on the other hand, did not appear like black Christians.

Butler asserted that Jesus had delivered a message.

Several Christians, according to Edward J.

He feels that the persistent popularity of white portrayals of Jesus is “an indicator of how far the United States has not progressed” in several areas of civil rights.

According to him, Christians’ perception of Jesus is narrowed as a result.

” Tisby, on the other hand, is optimistic, pointing to a variety of varied pictures of Jesus that provide alternatives to Sallman’s.

“If white Jesus cannot be put to death, how is it possible that institutional racism can be eradicated?” says the author.

“Because this is one that appears to be a no-brainer.

Sofia Minson is of Ngti Porou Mori, English, Swedish, and Irish descent.

Jesus is shown as a black guy with dreadlocks and his wrists tied in Vincent Barzoni’s ” His Voyage: Life of Jesus,” while the Franciscan friar Robert Lentz’s ” Jesus Christ Liberator ” shows Jesus as a black man dressed in the style of a Greek icon in his painting ” Jesus Christ Liberator ” The National Catholic Reporter’s 1999 competition to answer the question “What would Jesus Christ look like in the year 2000?” was won by Janet McKenzie’s ” Jesus of the People,” which was based on a black woman.

McKenzie’s design was picked as the winner since it was based on a black woman.

Carr says she is attempting to avoid pigeonholing Jesus into a single picture these days.

According to her, “It’s not so much the painting as it’s my query about who Jesus is.” “It’s more accurately a representation of the person who I view across the aisle as representing a different Jesus.”

The man who painted Jesus

It is the 127th birthday of an artist whose name you are unlikely to recognize, but whose work is often considered to be the most extensively circulated of the twentieth century. Despite the fact that he never left Chicago, Warner Sallman had an impact on how many Christians throughout the world perceived Jesus, for better or ill. Anderson University in Indiana is home to the whole collection of Sallman’s works. In their collection notes, they describe how photographs like Sallman’s might be objects of beauty, historical artifacts, keepsakes, items of devotion, or propaganda in the service of an ideology, depending on their context.

They can also make money by selling items.
In his book, Icons of American Protestantism, he discusses the following: During World War II, millions of pocket-sized “Heads of Christ” cards were distributed by the YMCA and the Salvation Army, and these cards were transported to Europe and Asia by American soldiers.
Sallman worked as a freelance illustrator and was a committed member of the Swedish Evangelical Covenant Church (Swedish Covenant Church).
When reproductions began to emerge on items such as clocks, lamps, buttons, laminated Bible verses, music boxes, and night lights, the number of items increased tremendously.

Mass produced kitsch

Since the mid-18th century, there has been a history of “Caucasian Jesus portraits,” and since the mid-18th century, there has also been a tradition of literary “lives of Jesus.” Generally speaking, these “lives” portrayed Christ as a representative of the finest of European (male) civilization. More information may be found at: Coca-Cola is more responsible for the success of ‘Paul, Apostle of Christ’ than the Bible. Visual portrayals of Jesus painted by Europeans mirrored the cultures of individuals who painted them; only on rare occasions, such as when Jesus was depicted as a shaven-headed boy, did historians express displeasure.

What happened in the twentieth century, according to Sallman, was that Jesus images were combined with American advertising and mass manufacturing.

Is Sallman’s image of Jesus a parody of the biblical figure?

Despite his beard, the “Head of Christ” is anything but a hipster ironic parody of himself.

The picture has become a little out of date. However, for many people, the high forehead, broad shoulders, and long nose are not disconcerting features. This is, very simply, what Jesus appears to look like in their eyes.

Masculine portrayal?

According to Sallman, he was striving to depict a Jesus who was more macho than previous images. Ironically, many people now consider his Jesus to be effeminate, indicating the extent to which cultural and flexible perceptions of “masculine” predominate over biological ones. Masculinity was a contentious issue in Jesus’ day, and as a Jew living in the Roman Empire, it was no different than it is now. Of course, the historical Jesus did not come from a Nordic or an American background. The visual monoculture of the United States, which was relatively new at the time of Sallman’s writing, has since given way to the fragmented image-production of the twenty-first century, marking the end of a distinctive style of seeing that was taken for granted.

Emmanuel College Photographer Richard C.
Nigerian, South Asian, Korean, and Indigenous painters have all depicted Jesus as being of African descent.
Whether something is considered kitsch or not is determined by the consumer’s attitude toward it.
The enduring popularity of Sallman’s 1940 Nordic “Head of Christ” tells us nothing about the first-century Mediterranean Jewish instructor who was shown in the work of the artist.
Kitsch has always been difficult to define, and religious kitsch is particularly difficult to define.
They were obviously anti-elitist in their viewpoint.
The importance of remembering how profoundly formative sentiments may still be associated with a well-marketed picture is particularly poignant on this day.

Exploring the Theory that a Modern Image of Jesus was Based on a Pope’s Son

Whenever you’re seeking for a historical figure who may serve as a model for Jesus Christ, it’s difficult to think of a more acceptable substitute for the Prince of Peace than Cesare Borgia. The ruthless Cesare was considered to be the inspiration for Niccolo Machiavelli’s satirical manual for would-be rulers, The Prince, because he was a member of one of Renaissance Italy’s most renowned dynasties and belonged to one of the most notorious families in the country. Jesus as shown in art Cesare was named a bishop at the age of 15 and a cardinal at the age of 18 as a result of his father’s influence, who rose to the position of Pope Alexander VI in 1471.

Cesare Borgia was a nobleman from the town of Borgia in the province of Tuscany.
There was only one problem: his father had picked that profession for his older brother, Giovanni, which created a conflict.
Jesus’ Sacred Heart is revered.
Cesare resigned from the church, taking on his brother’s position, titles, and fortune, as well as the title Duke of Valentinois, which had been given to him as a gift by the Pope’s ardent friend King Louis XII of France.
In Italy, the family didn’t have a shortage of adversaries, but some believe Cesare was responsible for his brother’s death, and that he may have even drawn the blade personally.
Cesare was a renowned womanizer who fathered 11 illegitimate children, according to public records.
Cesare was a papal warrior who rampaged over the surrounding Italian states, while at home he annihilated anybody who stood in his path, including his own family and friends.

When he consented to an amnesty he then ordered all of the ringleaders to be “taken care of” in bad faith.

Cesare Borgia, Lucrezia Borgia, Pope Alexander VI, and a young man with an empty glass are seen from left to right.

According to the idea, Jesus was initially shown as being non-European because he was Jewish, which did not sit well with the Borgia pope at the time of the painting’s creation.

In response, he is said to have “directed the destruction of any paintings representing a Semitic Jesus,” resulting in the popularization of one of the most lasting pictures of Jesus that exists today.

Certainly, paintings of Cesare Borgia from the period are uncannily similar to representations of Christ painted about the same time period, and this is a proven fact.

Cesare’s relationship with Leonardo da Vinci may possibly have contributed to the popularization of a specific portrayal of Jesus that was eerily similar to Cesare’s look.

Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi (Salvator of the World), around 1500.

One issue with this is that the timeframe doesn’t make any logical sense.

The Temple Mount in Jerusalem was the site of the Knights Templar’s first permanent headquarters.

Photo courtesy of Andrew Shiva CC BY-SA 4.0 (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License) Another issue is that it does not take into consideration the evidence.

The image of Jesus cleaning a leper is taken from a medieval mosaic in the Monreale Cathedral.

Christ Pantocrator, like Cesare, has long brown hair and a brown beard, as well as a noble face with defined features, a strong jawline, and prominent cheekbones.

It was painted on a wooden board in the 6th century, over 800 years before Cesare was born, depicting Christ Pantocrator.

The beliefs are intriguing to investigate, but they lack actual proof, as do many other Biblical theories and hypotheses regarding the genuine picture of Christ.

Head of Christ – Wikipedia

This page is about Sallman’s depiction of Christ, known as the Head of Christ. See also Head of Christ by Rembrandt, which is a picture of the same name (Rembrandt). It is also known as theSallman Head, and it is a portrait painting of Jesus of Nazareth by American artist Warner Sallman (1892–1968), completed in 1940 and titled The Head of Christ. By the end of the twentieth century, it had been printed more than half a billion times throughout the world, making it one of the most successful works of Christian popular devotional art ever created.

In the words of the artist, the picture has “become the basis for the vision ofJesus” for “hundreds of millions” of individuals.

Origins

A charcoal sketch named The Son of Mandone was created in 1924, and it was purchased for use on the cover of the Covenant Companion, the denominational magazine of the Evangelical Covenant Church. TheHead of Christ is a representation of Christ’s head. Sallman painted numerous iterations of the picture throughout the course of his career, with the earliest oil version being from 1935 and commemorating the fiftieth anniversary celebration of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC). In 1940, students at North Park Theological Seminary approached him and begged him to duplicate the artwork they had seen.

Kriebel and Bates marketed more than 100 Warner Sallman pieces over the course of the following thirty years.

The Baptist Bookstore was responsible for the painting’s early popularity, producing printed prints of various sizes for sale throughout the southern United States.

Following the war, groups in Oklahoma and Indiana launched initiatives to disseminate the picture in both private and public areas, respectively.

Features

Christians of many denominations, including Lutherans and Roman Catholics, have applauded this artwork for including a concealed host on the forehead of The Head of Christ and achalice on his temple, both of which refer to the Holy Eucharist. Additionally, the Head of Christbecame popular with evangelical Christians as well, who thought that the painting emphasized the “salvific force of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection,” which they believed was emphasized by the portrait.

During the Cold War, according to David Morgan, a professor of religion at Duke University, “Sallman’s painting did represent a virile, muscular Christ, but for others, it reflected a more intimate and caring Jesus, a personal saviour for modern times.”

Associated miracles

A “miraculous vision” that Warner Sallman received late one night, according to Sallman, led to the creation of The Head of Christ. “The answer came at 2 a.m., January 1924”, according to Sallman, and was a “vision in response to my plea to God in a dismal circumstance.” In the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Head of Christ is also revered, following a 1991 report in which twelve-year-old Isaac Ayoub of Houston, Texas, who had been diagnosed with leukaemia, saw the eyes of Jesus in the painting shedding tears; Fr.

Mark’s Coptic Church in Houston, on the same day, “tried to verify the miracles”; and on the following day, “Dr.

According to reports, “more than fifty thousand people” came to witness it during its exhibition.

Appearances

While the altar cross of El Buen Samaritano United Methodist Church is present, a massive replica of Sallman’sHead of Christ is prominently displayed in the sanctuary. St. Francis de Sales Seminary, a Roman Catholic school in Oklahoma City, is a good example of how to be creative “asked and got a massiveHead of Christto be displayed on the university’s campus. It is still seen in both Protestant and Catholic churches, and it is especially popular among Mormons, Latinos, Native Americans, and African Americans.

(2012).

References

AbLippy, Charles H., et al (1 January 1994). Being Religious, American Style: A History of Popular Religiosity in the United States is a book on being religious in the United States. ISBN 9780313278952. Greenwood Publishing Group, p.185. ISBN 9780313278952. Retrieved on April 30, 2014. There is one in particular that stands out as having had a lasting impression on the religious awareness of the American people: the artist Warner Sallman’s “Head of Christ” (1892-1968). In 1940, Sallman’s “Head of Christ” was painted after it had been sketched in charcoal for the Covenant Companion, the magazine of the Swedish Evangelical Mission Covenant of America denomination. It was inspired by an image of Jesus in a painting by the French artist Leon Augustin Lhermitte, and it was originally sketched in charcoal. Since then, it has been printed more than 500 million times in various formats ranging from large-scale copies for use in churches to wallet-sized versions that people may carry around with them at all times. Edward J. Blum and Paul Harvey are co-authors of this work (21 September 2012). Christ’s color is red. Book published by UNC Press Books on page 211 with ISBN 978-0807837375. 30th of April, 2014, was retrieved. Sallman’s Head of Christ had been printed more than 500 million times by the 1990s, and it had become a global symbol at that point. Wood, Ralph C., et al (2003). The Church’s Engagement with Culture in the Process of Contending for the Faith Baylor University Press, p. 63, ISBN 9780918954862, ISBN 9780918954862. As a result, devotional depictions of a haloed and glorified Jesus—with particular emphasis on his face—began to gain widespread popularity. There are hundreds of emotive depictions of the Savior, but two of the most popular are by Warner Sallman, The Head of Christ, and Heinrich Hofmann, Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. Lippy, Charles H. (1 January 1994). Being Religious, American Style: A History of Popular Religiosity in the United States is a book on being religious in the United States. Greenwood Publishing Group, p.185, ISBN 9780313278952. Greenwood Publishing Group. 30th of April, 2014, was retrieved. In the New Testament, as well as in any other surviving early Christian literature, there is, of course, no account of Jesus’ physical appearance. Nonetheless, for hundreds of millions of people, Sallman’s picture of Jesus has been the foundation for their conception of Jesus, a Jesus who takes the holy into the realm of the mundane
Stephen Prothero is a writer who lives in New York City (15 December 2003). How the Son of God Became a National Icon in the United States of America. Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, p. 117, ISBN 9780374178901. Description: After World War II, as Protestants and Catholics worked together to show an unified front against the threat of godless Communism, Sallman’s Jesus emerged as by far the most popular representation of Jesus in American homes, churches, and places of employment. With the help of Sallman (and the creative marketing of his distributors), Jesus became readily identifiable by people of all races and religions in the United States
AbMorgan, David (Summer 2006). “It’s the face that’s all over the place.” Christian History and Biography. Christianity Today International (91): 11
Christianity Today International (91): 11
Christianity Today International David Morgan is a writer who lives in the United Kingdom (1998). Visual Piety: A History and Theory of Popular Religious Images is a book on popular religious images and their history. p. 131. ISBN 9780520923133 from the University of California Press. It appears to be important that the bulk of writers who made use of sacramental imagery such as the chalice and host come from religious traditions that are profoundly sacramental, such as Lutheranism and Roman Catholicism (eleven and seven of twenty-two letters, respectively). It is the concept of the sacrament that determines whether the ingredients of the sacrament of the altar are identical to the physical person of Jesus in both circumstances: genuine presence or transubstantiation, which is the case in both situations. During his first communion class and catechism class, a Lutheran minister from Indiana referred to the Head of Christ as the “Communion Christ,” writing, “I remind my first communion class and catechism students that every time we take communion we meet and see Christ as we have never seen him before” (372). As described by a Passionist nun in Japan, the Head of Christ hanging in the parlor of her convent displays the chalice, host, and other elements of the Eucharist, and “leads one to adore Jesus, who is constantly present in the bread and chalice of the Eucharist” (380). The mystery of hidden images in Jesus’ person appears to be an appropriate metaphor for the mystery of the Eucharistic meal to those Christians who are seeking a way of expressing the divine’s embeddedness in matter, as demonstrated by Jesus’ incarnation, and its prototype in the incarnation
Neal, Lynn S. “The Mystery of Hidden Images in Jesus’ Person” (2006). Christians and Inspirational Fiction: Evangelical Women and Inspirational Fiction p.179. ISBN 9780807856703 from the University of North Carolina Press. From World Wide Jehovah’s Witness wristbands to Warner Sallman’s Head of Christ, evangelicalism stresses the salvific power of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, as well as how he suffered the miseries of mankind while remaining sinless
Morgan, David (1996). The Art of Warner Sallman: Icons of American Protestantism in the Making. p. 62. ISBN 9780300063424. Published by Yale University Press. The author David Morgan says that for many Christians during the Cold War, Sallman’s painting represented a virile, muscular Christ, yet for others, it represented a more intimate and caring Jesus, who served as a personal savior for modern times
(1996). Warner Sallman’s Icons of American Protestantism: The Art of Warner Sallman is published by Yale University Press and has a page number of 62.ISBN 9780300063424. Throughout his life, Sallman maintained that his first sketch of Jesus was the product of a spiritual “picturization,” a supernatural vision that he had seen late one night in his bedroom. “The response arrived at 2 a.m. on January 2, 1924,” he wrote. “It came to me in a vision as a response to my plea to God in the midst of a hopeless circumstance.” Sallman was working against a deadline: he had been commissioned to paint the cover of the Covenant Companion, the monthly magazine of the Evangelical Covenant Church, but he had been suffering from artist’s block for some weeks at the time. Sallman’s mission for the February edition, which focused on Christian youth, was to produce an inspirational image of Christ that would “challenge our young people.” Otto F.A. Meinardus, Ph.D., “I ruminated over it for a long time in prayer and meditation,” Sallman remembered, “looking for something that would capture the eye and express the message of the Christian faith on the cover” (Fall 1997). “Theological Issues of Coptic Orthodox Inculturation in Western Society” is the title of this paper. Coptic Church Review, vol. 18, no. 3, ISSN 0273-3269 It was on the morning of Monday, November 11, 1991 that 12-year-old Isaac Ayoub of Houston, Texas, who was suffering from leukemia, noticed that the eyes of Jesus in the famous Sallman “Head of Christ” began moving and shedding an oily liquid like tears. This was an interesting case of inculturation at the time. A witness to the miracles was Fr. Ishaq Soliman, a Coptic priest from St. Mark’s Coptic Church in Houston, who attested to them on the same day. The next day, Dr. Atef Rizkalla, the family physician, examined the kid and determined that there were no signs or symptoms of leukemia in his system. Sallman’s “Head of Christ” was on display at the Coptic Church, and the church received more than 50,000 visitors. The account was authenticated by two Coptic bishops, Anbâ Tadros of Port Said and Anbâ Yuhanna of Cairo
AbMeinardus, Otto F. A., and others (17 October 2006). Historically and Presently, Christians in Egypt have included Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant communities. ISBN 9781617972621 (American University in Cairo Press, p. 70). One particularly interesting instance of inculturation occurred on Monday, November 11, 1991, when Isaac Ayoub of Houston, Texas, who was suffering from leukemia at the time, noticed that the eyes of Jesus in the famous Sallman “Head of Christ” began moving and shedding an oily liquid that he interpreted to be tears. A witness to the miracles was Father Ishaq Soliman, a Coptic priest from St. Mark’s Coptic Church in Houston, who attested to them on the same day. The next day, Dr. Atef Rizkalla, the family physician, examined the kid and determined that there were no signs or symptoms of leukemia in his system. Sallman’s “Head of Christ” was on display in the Coptic Church, where it was seen by more than 50,000 people in one day. The narrative was authenticated by two Coptic bishops, Bishop Tadros of Port Said and Bishop Yuhanna of Cairo
Morgan, David, and others (1996). Warner Sallman’s Art is a work of fiction. 192 pages, ISBN 9780300063424, published by Yale University Press. Several tales on the impact of Sallman’s image among nonwhites, non-Christians, and people engaging in inappropriate behavior were brought together in evident didactic fashion in articles published in prominent religious journals during this time period. As an example, we read of a white businessman who, while traveling through a secluded forest, is attacked by a nasty bunch of headhunters who force him to remove his clothes. They uncover a little duplicate of Sallman’s Christ while searching through his billfold, hurriedly apologize, and then depart “without causing any further harm” into the bush where they met him. A second narrative tells the account of a robber who was about to commit a heinous crime when he happened to notice the Head of Christ on a living room wall. Another story talks of a Jewish woman who was on her deathbed who was converted when a hospital chaplain showed her a photograph of Sallman
Paul Barton is a writer who lives in the United Kingdom (1 January 2010). Methodists, Presbyterians, and Baptists of Hispanic descent in Texas. p. 67. ISBN 9780292782914 from the University of Texas Press. In lieu of the cross at the front of the sanctuary of El Buen Samaritano Methodist Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a big replica of Sallman’sHead of Christ is displayed
Blum, Edward J. and Harvey, Paul (21 September 2012). Christ’s color is red. Book published by UNC Press Books on page 211 with ISBN 978-0807837375. 30th of April, 2014, was retrieved. A massiveHead of Christto be displayed on the site of a new Catholic seminary in Oklahoma City was sought and received
Morgan, David
Promey, Sally M., and others (2001). The Visual Culture of American Religions is a study of the visual culture of American religions. p. 38. ISBN 9780520225220 from the University of California Press. 30th of April, 2014, was retrieved. The exhibition of pictures or objects in video formats that include both time and motion (for example, the appearance of a print version of Warner Sallman’s 1940 Head of Christ in Spike Lee’s 1991 film, Jungle Fever) and re-presenting the exhibition of pictures or objects in video formats that include both time and motion (11 September 2013). “Jesus of the Silver Linings” (Jesus of the Silver Linings). In this century, we are living in the Christian century. 30th of April, 2014, was retrieved. One thing that remains consistent in the midst of the familial dysfunction is a framed portrait of Jesus. You’ve undoubtedly seen something similar to this before. It is Warner Sallman’s Head of Christ, that white, blue-eyed, long-haired Jesus who is gazing into the distance in his robes of white and blue. Since it was initially shown to the public in the 1940s, it has become the most widely reproduced representation of Jesus on the planet. During the filming of Silver Linings Playbook, Jesus is shown on a wall in the family room, which is a regular phenomena discovered by art historian David Morgan when researching the location of Jesus in 1950s and 1960s America.

External links

Dr. David Morgan (The Warner Sallman Collection at Anderson University)
Warner E. Sallman Art Collection, Inc
Warner Sallman Art Collection, Warner Press
Head of Christ by Dr. David Morgan (The Warner Sallman Collection at Anderson University)