![]() As Paul says in his letter to the Corinthian church, “Does not even nature tell you that for a man to have long hair is dishonourable to him?” (1 Cor. The acceptable style in the Roman world was to be clean shaven and short-haired. But their hair would not have been very long. The idea is that such men did not bother to visit barbers very often, as they were concentrating on more important things. Was that partly because of their appearance? A male “philosopher” in antiquity was thought to have shortish hair and a rough beard. So can we imagine Jesus appropriately in terms of the evidence of the 1st century? I have wondered about the fact that Jews were known in antiquity as a “nation of philosophers” (Josephus, Apion 1:179). They have evolved over time to the standard “Jesus” we recognise. ![]() The point of these images was never to show Jesus as a man, but to make theological points about who Jesus was as Christ (King, Judge) and divine Son. In early Christian art, he often had the big, curly hair of Dionysus. ![]() As time went on the halo from the sun god Apollo was added to Jesus’s head to show his heavenly nature. Some of the oldest surviving depictions of Jesus portray him as essentially a younger version of Jupiter, Neptune or Serapis. The long hair and beard are imported specifically from the iconography of the Graeco-Roman world. The early depictions of Jesus that set the template for the way he continues to be depicted today were based on the image of an enthroned emperor and influenced by presentations of pagan gods. But the Jesus we recognise so easily is the result of cultural history. We do not notice this omission of any description of Jesus, because we “know” what he looked like thanks to all the images we have. We are told his age, as “about 30 years of age” (Luke 3:23), but there is nothing that dramatically distinguishes him, at least at first sight. In the Gospels, he is not described, either as tall or short, good-looking or plain, muscular or frail. It is a subject that has interested me for a long time. These are questions I grappled with as I wrote my book, What did Jesus look like?(now published with Bloomsbury T&T Clark). He is fairly well-tended (combed hair, good teeth, clean) and his clothes look newly washed.īut what did Jesus look like really, as a Jew in 1st-century Judaea? What colour was his skin? How tall was he? What did he wear? His clothes are also long: a tunic down to the ground, with wide baggy sleeves, and a large mantle. He has a long face and nose, and long hair and a beard. ![]() He is usually somewhat European: a man with nut-brown hair (sometimes blond) and light brown or blue eyes. His image is found repeatedly in countless churches and Christian buildings. He is portrayed in art, film and literature in much the same way. Tiny timeline: ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in a global context, 2nd–1st millennia B.C.E.Everyone knows how to recognise Jesus. 3 (#99–152)īrowse this content A beginner's guide Tiny timeline: ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in a global context, 5th–3rd millennia B.C.E. Reframing Art History, a new kind of textbook.With 503 contributors from 201 colleges, universities, museums, and researchĬenters, Smarthistory is the most-visited art history resource in the world. We believe that the brilliant histories of art belong to everyone, no matter their background. At Smarthistory, the Center for Public Art History, we believe art has the power to transform lives and to build understanding across cultures.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |