From early Renaissance works to paintings created in the 21st century, there seems to be a pattern of common physical traits that artists use when crafting their image of Christ. In art, Jesus Christ is often depicted as a man with long, light brown hair, bright blue eyes and a fair complexion; therefore, most people view Jesus as a white man. It is important to note that the artists who display their interpretation of Jesus’ appearance as such are usually Caucasian, and are born and raised within the Western Hemisphere.
As I went to a Catholic elementary school, the stories and teachings of the Bible were shared with us on an almost daily basis. Every month, we would all gather to attend a mass ceremony: listen to the readings said by our priest, take the Eucharist, sing hymns and pray the Hail Mary. Every day would start with a morning prayer and we even had to memorize and recite certain prayers in French. I never questioned my faith and religion as a child. I proudly embraced my Catholicism, without taking the time to really think about the idea of God actually existing. I now consider myself agnostic, but I do not feel the need to close doors on the concept of religion or spiritual beliefs in general. And I still question and analyze some of the things that I was taught, specifically regarding the accuracy of the portraits of Christ I was shown.
Jesus Christ was said to be born in Bethlehem, a Palestinian city. This information proves that, well, sorry to burst the bubble of racist Christians who think Jesus looks like this, Christ would not have been white. Forensic anthropologist Richard Neave created a model of a Galilean man (Galilee was presumably the home of Jesus for much of his life according to the New Testament). Neave crafted this model after finding a skull in the region to have a more precise grasp of the facial features of Jesus Christ. Although this was not a direct replica of Christ himself, it would give a good idea of how Jesus looked. The examining of this skull, and acknowledging Jesus’ Judean upbringing, would also dismiss and destruct the assumption that Jesus had blue eyes, contrary to the thousands of paintings portraying him having them. According to the same BBC article in which displayed Neave’s model, the closest correspondence to what Jesus looked like is found in this depiction of Moses on the walls of a 3rd century synagogue of Dura-Europos.
Apart from all the scientific research done to have a correct vision of Christ’s appearance, the Bible itself does not offer any answers to the complexion of Jesus’ skin. However, his Palestinian origins definitely suggest that he could not have been a pale white man with blue eyes. So, why is he almost always painted as such? And why should we care about whether or not people think he is white? As I stated earlier in the article, the people who craft these ideas of Christ’s features are born and raised in countries of the West, from Italy to the United States. And since these artists are usually white, they want to interpret Jesus Christ in a way that parallels themselves; almost as if they will somehow inhabit the righteousness and kindness that Jesus carries if they paint him similar to their own physicality. Therefore, one can argue that they whitewash for their own personal satisfaction and comfort. I am not saying that one who depicts Jesus as white is automatically a white supremacist, but in some situations, this can be the case. This means that they blindly believe that Jesus could not have been any other race but white. And lastly, the importance of discussing the complexion of Jesus Christ does not only apply to Christians, but to everyone. Insisting that Christ was white is proof that one has a bad understanding of history and theology. This article written by Jonathan Merritt of The Atlantic talks about the utter ignorance behind Fox News reporter Megyn Kelly firmly defending her belief that Jesus was white. When one accepts the truth of Jesus’ features and complexion, they also educate themselves on the disgustingly sad method of whitewashing, in which one (specifically members of Hollywood) remove the identity of somebody by making them caucasian. Whether you are a part of Christianity or not, it is vital to question the world around you and what you have been told in order to learn and progress as a human being.
