There are no undisputed historical images of Jesus; he sat for no portraits which are preserved and of unquestioned authenticity and undoubted provenance.
There is however an early tradition, recorded by Eusebius of Caesarea, that says that Jesus Christ once washed his face with water and then dried it with a cloth, leaving an image of his face imprinted on the cloth. This was sent by him to King Abgarus of Edessa, who had sent a messenger asking Jesus to come and heal him of his disease. This image, called the Mandylion, appears in history in around 525. Numerous replicas of this "image not made by human hands" remain in circulation. As recently as the 19th century, it was not uncommon to find prints of this icon in the homes of Anglicans, along with framed copies of the correspondence between Jesus Christ and the King of Edessa. There is also the Shroud of Turin, which appears in history in 1353, which some have speculated is the same image as the Mandylion of Edessa, which disappeared in the wars surrounding the fall of the Byzantine Empire shortly before then. Controversy still surrounds the claims made for the Shroud of Turin. There are also two or three paintings of Jesus and Mary that are ascribed to Luke the Evangelist, at least one of which is still preserved.
Early Christian art is not helpful. There is no commandment in the New Testament that directs Christians to remember Jesus Christ with portraits or images. No physical description of him is contained in any of the canonical Gospels. During the Roman Empire's persecution of Christians, Christian art was necessarily furtive and ambiguous. There are a number of images from Christian tombs in the catacombs that have been interpreted as portraits of Jesus. Some of these depict the "Good Shepherd" in pastoral scenes collecting sheep; in these images, Jesus is a beardless youth who resembles contemporary pagan imagery of Apollo.
The more familiar, bearded Jesus figure appears later. As a practicing Jew, it is assumed that Jesus had a beard. The source or model for his physical features remains unknown. It is possible that the portrait may have been based on an eyewitness's sketch or reproduced from a tradition of verbal descriptions of Jesus' appearance. But once the bearded, long haired Jesus became the traditional representation of Jesus, his facial features began to take shape and become recognisable.
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2 Forensic recreation of Jesus 3 Example Images 4 External links |
To discuss: Are images of Jesus idolatry? Does denying the use of images of Jesus lead to denying the incarnation of Jesus?Theological issues in portraits of Jesus
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Roman Catholic The Sacred Heart image of Christ |
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Greek Orthodox Jesus Christ icon |
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Western Christian Traditional image of the Nativity (often used in Christmas cards) |
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Protestant Familiar Jesus image from the nineteenth century |
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Christ Pantocrator Icon from St. Catherine's Monastery on Mt. Sinai (ca. Mid to late sixth century) |