April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
Entertainment Column
Jesus seen a hundred ways
He had black hair and a beard.
No, He was blond and clean-shaven.
Actually, He was yellow. Or green. Or maybe Japanese.
Those declarations have been made by artists over the past 2,000 years as they have applied their imaginations to answer the question: "What did Jesus look like?"
Some of their answers, familiar and startling, appear in "Images of Jesus," a one-hour videotape now for sale. The program, which first aired as a PBS special, is now available to parishes, schools and families that are interested in examining art history vis-a-vis the visage of Christ.
Image impact
The video's narration makes a passing attempt at setting the paintings and sculptures into their historical context, with mentions of the Jewish proscription against graven images and the iconoclast movement. But the text is so spare and leaps centuries so facilely that it provides only limited information. The real impact of this program lies in the portraits.From an early statue of Jesus as a boyish shepherd through ethnic representations of Him to modern artists' takes on classic scenes (e.g. Dali's striking version of the Last Supper), the images are arresting and sure to inspire in viewers thoughts of how they picture Our Lord.
The Bible provides no description of Jesus. Since the early Christians believed He was returning soon, there was no need for them to preserve Him in paint or marble for future generations. To their thinking, after all, there would be no future generations, and everyone would see Him for themselves.
Therefore, unless you believe that the image on the Shroud of Turin is authentic, everyone is free to imagine their own Jesus.
Many colors
And plenty of people have. As His message was carried around the world, Chinese people painted Him with slanted eyes and Africans carved Him as a black man. To Renaissance artists, He was the perfect man: all muscle and beauty. Later painters made Him more common.While the enduring image of Jesus is of someone with long, dark hair and a cloven beard, He could have been a redhead. King David, many scholars believe, had red hair, and Jesus descended from him.
As "Images of Jesus" goes along, lingering on Michelangelo's sculpted "Pieta," Rembrandt's painted infant or Chagall's stained glass Jesus, you naturally start to pick out favorites -- and to be surprised by artworks you've never encountered before. For me, Manet's painting of Christ's corpse offered a new way of thinking about His death: real, violent, profound.
Discussion starter
"Images of Jesus," produced, written and directed by Perry Wolff, makes for fascinating solo viewing; but viewed by a group, it should be even more intriguing as people discuss which paintings appeal to them and which don't. I can foresee adult study clubs, Catholic school students, religious education classes and families using the video to spark dialogue about everything from what Jesus looked like to who He is, regardless of his eye color.As we draw closer to the millennium, this is one tape to watch as part of your preparation for the Jubilee Year of 2000.
("Images of Jesus," from Janson Television & Video, costs $19.95. Check out the company's website at www.janson.com. Call 1-800-9-JANSON.)
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