Why is Jesus depicted as a white guy in mostly all paintings?

[Native]

Christianity became the official religion of Rome in the 4th century AD. The Holy Roman Empire that would result, was located primarily in western and central Europe.

Correct, and in the same time the Roman Empire discarded their Pantheon of multiple deites but gave some of these names to planets instead (as a kind of double assurance) thus thoroughly fooling later historic sholars, mythologists and astrologers to believe that planets are gods and a goddess.

"Not everything coming from Rome is good" and in this case it was plain stupid as the entire mythical story of creation became forgotten.

 

[DagonVarunaMitraApolloZan]

And why is he always depicted as a long haired hippi with beard?

Nazirite - Wikipedia


An Israelite (not a Gentile[12]) becomes a nazirite by an intentional verbal declaration.[13] This declaration can be in any language, and can be something as simple as saying "me too" as a nazirite passes by.[14] A person can specify the duration as an interval of 30 days or more. If a person does not specify, or specifies a time less than 30 days, the vow is for 30 days.[15] A person who says "I am a nazirite forever" or "I am a nazirite for all my life" is a permanent nazirite and slightly different laws apply. However, if a person says that he is a nazirite for a thousand years, he is a regular nazirite. A father, but not a mother, can declare his son, but not his daughter, a nazirite. However the child or any close family member has a right to refuse this status.[16]

Being a nazirite[edit]
This vow required the nazirite to observe the following:

• Abstain from all alcohols derived from grapes. (Traditional rabbinic authorities state that all other types of alcohol are permitted.)
• Refrain from cutting the hair on one's head;
• Avoid corpses and graves, even those of family members, and any structure which contains such.

It is also forbidden for the nazirite to have grape or grape derivatives, even if they are not alcoholic. According to traditional rabbinic interpretation, there is no prohibition for the nazirite to drink alcoholic beverages not derived from grapes.[17] According to less traditional rabbinic interpretation, a Nazirite is forbidden to consume any alcohol, and vinegar from such alcohol, regardless of its source.[18] The laws of wine or grapes mixing in other food is similar to other dietary laws that apply to all Jews.[19]

A nazirite can groom his hair with his hand or scratch his head and need not be concerned if some hair falls out. However a nazirite cannot use a comb since it is a near certainty to pull out some hair. A nazirite is not allowed to use a chemical depilatory that will remove hair.[20] A nazirite that recovers from Tzaraath, a skin disease described in Leviticus 14, is obligated to cut his hair despite being a nazirite.

A nazirite (except for a permanent nazirite as stated above) may not become ritually impure by proximity to a dead body. Causes include being under the same roof as a corpse. However a nazirite can contract other kinds of ritual impurity. A nazirite that finds an unburied corpse is obligated to bury it, even though he will become defiled in the process.[21]

Ending of the nazirite vow[edit]
At the end of the nazirite vow, the nazirite brings three sacrificial offerings to the Temple in Jerusalem. The first is a ewe for a chatat (sin-offering), the second is a lamb for an olah (elevation offering), and finally a ram as a shelamim (peace offering) along with a basket of matzah and their grain and drink offerings.[22] After bringing the sacrificial offerings, the nazirites would shave their heads in the outer courtyard of the Temple. Part of the Nazir's commencement offering is given to the Kohen. This gift is listed as one of the twenty-four kohanic gifts.

Attitudes toward nazirites[edit]
A nazirite is called "holy unto the Lord" (Numbers 6:8), and must bring a sin-offering (Numbers 6:11) if breaking the dedication by being near a dead body ("and make atonement for that which he sinned"). This is not a contradiction, because the sin-offering is only if someone "dies suddenly in the nazirites presence, thus defiling the hair that symbolizes their dedication" (Numbers 6:9), when it is made clear by the Lord (Numbers 6:6) that a nazirite cannot be in the presence of the dead thus becoming unclean.

Evolution of Christian Artwork Since 1st Century AD

Depiction of Jesus - Wikipedia

"
Initially Jesus was represented indirectly by pictogram symbols such as the ichthys (fish), the peacock, or an anchor (the Labarum or Chi-Rho was a later development). The staurogram seems to have been a very early representation of the crucified Jesus within the sacred texts. Later personified symbols were used, including Jonah, whose three days in the belly of the whale pre-figured the interval between Christ's death and resurrection; Daniel in the lion's den; or Orpheus charming the animals.[16] The image of "The Good Shepherd", a beardless youth in pastoral scenes collecting sheep, was the most common of these images, and was probably not understood as a portrait of the historical Jesus at this period.[17] It continues the classical Kriophoros ("ram-bearer" figure), and in some cases may also represent the Shepherd of Hermas, a popular Christian literary work of the 2nd century.[18]

Among the earliest depictions clearly intended to directly represent Jesus himself are many showing him as a baby, usually held by his mother, especially in the Adoration of the Magi, seen as the first theophany, or display of the incarnate Christ to the world at large.[19] The oldest known portrait of Jesus, found in Syria and dated to about 235, shows him as a beardless young man of authoritative and dignified bearing. He is depicted dressed in the style of a young philosopher, with close-cropped hair and wearing a tunic and pallium—signs of good breeding in Greco-Roman society. From this, it is evident that some early Christians paid no heed to the historical context of Jesus being a Jew and visualised him solely in terms of their own social context, as a quasi-heroic figure, without supernatural attributes such as a halo (a fourth-century innovation).[20]

The appearance of Jesus had some theological implications. While some Christians thought Jesus should have the beautiful appearance of a young classical hero,[21] and the Gnostics tended to think he could change his appearance at will, for which they cited the Meeting at Emmaus as evidence,[22] others including the Church Fathers Justin (d. 165) and Tertullian (d. 220) believed, following Isaiah:53:2, that Christ's appearance was unremarkable:[23] "he had no form nor comeliness, that we should look upon him, nor beauty that we should delight in him." But when the pagan Celsus ridiculed the Christian religion for having an ugly God in about 180, Origen (d. 248) cited Psalm 45:3: "Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, mighty one, with thy beauty and fairness"[24] Later the emphasis of leading Christian thinkers changed; Jerome (d. 420) and Augustine of Hippo (d. 430) argued that Jesus must have been ideally beautiful in face and body. For Augustine he was "beautiful as a child, beautiful on earth, beautiful in heaven.""

 

[DagonVarunaMitraApolloZan]

Part 2

"
From the 3rd century onwards, the first narrative scenes from the Life of Christ to be clearly seen are the Baptism of Christ, painted in a catacomb in about 200,[26] and the miracle of the Raising of Lazarus,[27] both of which can be clearly identified by the inclusion of the dove of the Holy Spirit in Baptisms, and the vertical, shroud-wrapped body of Lazarus. Other scenes remain ambiguous—an agape feast may be intended as a Last Supper, but before the development of a recognised physical appearance for Christ, and attributes such as the halo, it is impossible to tell, as tituli or captions are rarely used. There are some surviving scenes from Christ's Works of about 235 from the Dura Europos church on the Persian frontier of the Empire. During the 4th century a much greater number of scenes came to be depicted,[28] usually showing Christ as youthful, beardless and with short hair that does not reach his shoulders, although there is considerable variation.[29]

Jesus is sometimes shown performing miracles by means of a wand,[30] as on the doors of Santa Sabina in Rome (430–32). He uses the wand to change water to wine, multiply the bread and fishes, and raise Lazarus.[31] When pictured healing, he only lays on hands. The wand is thought to be a symbol of power. The bare-faced youth with the wand may indicate that Jesus was thought of as a user of magic or wonder worker by some of the early Christians.[32][33] No art has been found picturing Jesus with a wand before the 2nd century. Some scholars suggest that the Gospel of Mark, the Secret Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of John (the so-called Signs Gospel), portray such a wonder worker, user of magic, a magician or a Divine man.[34] Only the Apostle Peter is also depicted in ancient art with a wand.[33]

Another depiction, seen from the late 3rd century or early 4th century onwards, showed Jesus with a beard, and within a few decades can be very close to the conventional type that later emerged.[35] This depiction has been said to draw variously on Imperial imagery, the type of the classical philosopher,[36] and that of Zeus, leader of the Greek gods, or Jupiter, his Roman equivalent,[37] and the protector of Rome. According to art historian Paul Zanker, the bearded type has long hair from the start, and a relatively long beard (contrasting with the short "classical" beard and hair always given to St Peter, and most other apostles);[38] this depiction is specifically associated with "Charismatic" philosophers like Euphrates the Stoic, Dio of Prusa and Apollonius of Tyana, some of whom were claimed to perform miracles.[39]

After the very earliest examples of c. 300, this depiction is mostly used for hieratic images of Jesus, and scenes from his life are more likely to use a beardless, youthful type.[40] The tendency of older scholars such as Talbot Rice to see the beardless Jesus as associated with a "classical" artistic style and the bearded one as representing an "Eastern" one drawing from ancient Syria, Mesopotamia and Persia seems impossible to sustain, and does not feature in more recent analyses. Equally attempts to relate on a consistent basis the explanation for the type chosen in a particular work to the differing theological views of the time have been unsuccessful.[41] From the 3rd century on, some Christian leaders, such as Clement of Alexandria had recommended the wearing of beards by Christian men.[42] The centre parting was also seen from early on, and was also associated with long-haired philosophers."

"
From the middle of the 4th century, after Christianity was legalized by the Edict of Milan in 313, and gained Imperial favour, there was a new range of images of Christ the King,[43] using either of the two physical types described above, but adopting the costume and often the poses of Imperial iconography. These developed into the various forms of Christ in Majesty. Some scholars reject the connection between the political events and developments in iconography, seeing the change as a purely theological one, resulting from the shift of the concept and title of Pantocrator ("Ruler of all") from God the Father (still not portrayed in art) to Christ, which was a development of the same period, perhaps led by Athanasius of Alexandria (d. 373).[44]

Another depiction drew from classical images of philosophers, often shown as a youthful "intellectual wunderkind" in Roman sarcophagii; the Traditio Legis image initially uses this type.[45] Gradually Jesus became shown as older, and during the 5th century the image with a beard and long hair, now with a cruciform halo, came to dominate, especially in the Eastern Empire. In the earliest large New Testament mosaic cycle, in Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna (c. 520), Jesus is beardless though the period of his ministry until the scenes of the Passion, after which he is shown with a beard.[46]

The Good Shepherd, now clearly identified as Christ, with halo and often rich robes, is still depicted, as on the apse mosaic in the church of Santi Cosma e Damiano in Rome, where the twelve apostles are depicted as twelve sheep below the imperial Jesus, or in the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia at Ravenna."

 

[DagonVarunaMitraApolloZan]

Part 3

"
Once the bearded, long-haired Jesus became the conventional representation of Jesus, his facial features slowly began to be standardised, although this process took until at least the 6th century in the Eastern Church, and much longer in the West, where clean-shaven Jesuses are common until the 12th century, despite the influence of Byzantine art. But by the late Middle Ages the beard became almost universal and when Michelangelo showed a clean-shaven Apollo-like Christ in his Last Judgment fresco in the Sistine Chapel (1534–41) he came under persistent attack in the Counter-Reformation climate of Rome for this, as well as other things.[47]

French scholar Paul Vignon has listed fifteen similarities ("marks", like tilaka)[48] between most of the icons of Jesus after this point, particularly in the icons of "Christ Pantocrator" ("The all-powerful Messiah"). He claims that these are due to the availability of the Image of Edessa (which he claims to be identical to the Shroud of Turin, via Constantinople)[49] to the artists. Certainly images believed to have miraculous origins, or the Hodegetria, believed to be a portrait of Mary from the life by Saint Luke, were widely regarded as authoritative by the Early Medieval period and greatly influenced depictions. In Eastern Orthodoxy the form of images was, and largely is, regarded as revealed truth, with a status almost equal to scripture, and the aim of artists is to copy earlier images without originality, although the style and content of images does in fact change slightly over time.[50]


The oldest surviving panel icon of Christ Pantocrator, encaustic on panel, c. 6th century, showing the appearance of Jesus that is still immediately recognised today.


As to the historical appearance of Jesus, in one possible translation of the apostle Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians, Paul urges Christian men of first-century Corinth not to have long hair.[51] An early commentary by Pelagius (c. AD 354 – c. AD 420/440) says, "Paul was complaining because men were fussing about their hair and women were flaunting their locks in church. Not only was this dishonoring to them, but it was also an incitement to fornication."[52] Some[who?] have speculated that Paul was a Nazirite who kept his hair long[citation needed] even though such speculation is at odds with Paul's statement in I Corinthians 11:14 that long hair for men was shameful at the time. Jesus was a practicing Jew so presumably had a beard."
Once the bearded, long-haired Jesus became the conventional representation of Jesus, his facial features slowly began to be standardised, although this process took until at least the 6th century in the Eastern Church, and much longer in the West, where clean-shaven Jesuses are common until the 12th century, despite the influence of Byzantine art. But by the late Middle Ages the beard became almost universal and when Michelangelo showed a clean-shaven Apollo-like Christ in his Last Judgment fresco in the Sistine Chapel (1534–41) he came under persistent attack in the Counter-Reformation climate of Rome for this, as well as other things.[47]

French scholar Paul Vignon has listed fifteen similarities ("marks", like tilaka)[48] between most of the icons of Jesus after this point, particularly in the icons of "Christ Pantocrator" ("The all-powerful Messiah"). He claims that these are due to the availability of the Image of Edessa (which he claims to be identical to the Shroud of Turin, via Constantinople)[49] to the artists. Certainly images believed to have miraculous origins, or the Hodegetria, believed to be a portrait of Mary from the life by Saint Luke, were widely regarded as authoritative by the Early Medieval period and greatly influenced depictions. In Eastern Orthodoxy the form of images was, and largely is, regarded as revealed truth, with a status almost equal to scripture, and the aim of artists is to copy earlier images without originality, although the style and content of images does in fact change slightly over time.[50]
The oldest surviving panel icon of Christ Pantocrator, encaustic on panel, c. 6th century, showing the appearance of Jesus that is still immediately recognised today.


As to the historical appearance of Jesus, in one possible translation of the apostle Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians, Paul urges Christian men of first-century Corinth not to have long hair.[51] An early commentary by Pelagius (c. AD 354 – c. AD 420/440) says, "Paul was complaining because men were fussing about their hair and women were flaunting their locks in church. Not only was this dishonoring to them, but it was also an incitement to fornication."[52] Some[who?] have speculated that Paul was a Nazirite who kept his hair long[citation needed] even though such speculation is at odds with Paul's statement in I Corinthians 11:14 that long hair for men was shameful at the time. Jesus was a practicing Jew so presumably had a beard.

 

[Native]

@The Artis Magistra
I would have been satisfied with this

Refrain from cutting the hair on one's head;

 

[loverofhumanity]

This question is absolutely not meant as any form of mocking Christian art or portraits
But i always wondered about why Jesus was painted as a white european looking person??

Was he really a white guy?
What does the Christian scripture say about it?

Hi Amanaki.

How true! So how on earth would they recognise Him on His return? They likely would turn on Him claiming He’s an imposter just like the Jews did to Jesus.

Jesus was a Great Spiritual Being and so was Buddha and Baha’u’llah but whenever These Suns of Truth rise on the horizon They are called false teachers. So sad.

 

[DagonVarunaMitraApolloZan]

@The Artis Magistra
I would have been satisfied with this

Yeah, but he might not have been one of those guys, and the earlier depictions of him had him without his usual look, which was based on figures like the philosophers, Greek Kings, and "Gods" like Zeus most likely, where the beard may have seemed more stately and majestic to the Byzantine artists, and so they made Jesus appear as what they would imagine was fitting for one of their Kingly figures or a Man-God.

So what I collected there (though you would have been satisfied with far less, are you grateful at all for far more?) gives you a thorough picture of some of the sources and possibilities related to the appearance of Jesus.

It appears that Jesus also was "dedicated to God" and aspects of those ideas may have been part of the mix, but Paul's apparent rejection of the long hair would indicate that he didn't think of Jesus as carrying this fashion, and throughout the early period there didn't appear to be a long-haired Jesus as the primary depiction.

If you didn't enjoy the writing from Wikipedia collected there, others may instead get something more out of what was collected there instead (or not, but for me cultural and artistic history and the history of ideas and depictions is an area of tremendous interest and I was happy to read the content I collected there, as I've also read it before and enjoyed articles on the subject).

The restriction from "grape drinks" maybe or alcohol or whatever, might indicate that the stories about Jesus were not talking about a Nazirite.

 

[DagonVarunaMitraApolloZan]

Hi Amanaki.

How true! So how on earth would they recognise Him on His return? They likely would turn on Him claiming He’s an imposter just like the Jews did to Jesus.

Jesus was a Great Spiritual Being and so was Buddha and Baha’u’llah but whenever These Suns of Truth rise on the horizon They are called false teachers. So sad.

Baha'u'llah seems to be the least successful among those three so far. Many Christians seem to have the idea that the less successful they are, or the more people resist their ideas, the more true they must be. With that sort of rating system, Baha'u'llah is far more successful than your average raving lunatic on the sidewalk.

 

[InChrist]

This question is absolutely not meant as any form of mocking Christian art or portraits
But i always wondered about why Jesus was painted as a white european looking person??

Was he really a white guy?
What does the Christian scripture say about it?

The scriptures say Jesus was Jewish, born in Israel. I would say he portrayed incorrectly as white because most of the classic paintings that are supposed to represent Him were done by white European artists. They would be inaccurate in other ways, also, since no one actually knew or knows what Jesus looked like.