There are no contemporary portraits of Jesus. No one knows for sure what he looked like when he walked the dusty roads of Galilee and Judea in the First Century. But hundreds of artists have painted their own vision of what Jesus looked like. I've included some of the best of these here. I have avoided for the most part depictions of Jesus in the context of events of his life, which is a huge task by itself. Instead I have focused on portraits.
Christ Pantocrator ("All Ruling" or "Lord of All")
Christ Pantocrator,
Monastery Church, Daphni, Greece, 11th century, mosaic.
Christ Pantocrator, Lord of All, is a characteristic icon of churches in
the East. In the East, especially in India, the stupa, a
square base surmounted with a dome, emerged as the basic
architectural form for religious worship. This was adapted by the
Eastern Byzantine Church and became the official architectural
form for the Divine Liturgy. The square base represented the
earth with its four corners and the circular dome the heavens
above. At the center of the dome was the Christ, Jesus as
Pantocrator, Lord of All. In many of these pictures, Christ
with three-rayed halo, gives a sign of blessing with his right
hand, and in his left hand holds the Bible. Often Christ has
long, thin fingers. The letters IC and XC (with bars above them
to represent a contraction) to the left and right of Jesus' face
stand for IC (abbreviation of Jesus) and XC (abbreviation of
Christos). (The C represents the Greek letter Sigma
Σ). You can see literally
hundreds of these icons by doing an image search on "pantocrator"
in either
Yahoo or
Google. Here are some I particularly liked.
Kariye Camii mosque. Byzantine church of St. Savior in
Chora (now Kariye Camii mosque, Istanbul (14th century mosaics
in ceiling)
Hagia
Sophia. Mosaic in the southern gallery of the Hagia Sophia,
last quarter of the 12th century. Constantinople, now Istanbul.
Christ Pantocrator (1148 AD), mosaic, dome of Cathedral
of Cefalù, Palermo, Italy.
Larger image.
Christ in Majesty
A Western depiction of "Christ in Majesty" is similar to the
eastern Christ Pantocrator. It is often found on the aspe of
churches or above the door of a cathedral.
Tympanum over the central portal (west front) of the
Chartes Cathedral, France. Christ in Majesty is flanked by four
living creatures and the 24 elders of Revelation 4 and 5. Built
1145, burned (except the west front) 1194. Rebuilt 1205-1220.
joyfulheart.com
Christmas Incarnation
