Guest Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 (edited) I just shared a dope picture of Jesus as a baby and Mary on facebook from the Catholic Universal Church page. The pic shows a baby Jesus white as snow with blue eyes and Mary a very pale white. Ok this question is not to start any kind of argument or racist suggestions. None at all. My question though is why has so much of the art that comes from the Church shown Jesus to be this white blond haired blue eyed guy. I have no prob seeing pics like this but it isn't what He looked like. I think the Bible says his hair was like wool like that. So chanches are He was probally pretty darker. Also if there are going to be pics showing Him pale white blue eyed why not have pics showing Him to be black ? Why not pictures of baby Jesus as black ? Again this is not meant to start any racial stuff I'm just wondering about this. Alright Godbless everybody. Edited December 8, 2012 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spem in alium Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 From what I've learned, it seems that art is relative to culture. People want to be able to relate to images of Jesus and Mary, and so the way in which they are portrayed seems for the most part to be dependent on the culture or place in which the artwork is produced. It is probable that Christ was not white, but by portraying him as white it is more likely that people in white societies will relate to the image. I suppose the same can be assumed for people of other cultures. Here are two images of "black Madonnas". The one on the left is one of my favourites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papist Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 I never gave/give it a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 From what I've learned, it seems that art is relative to culture. People want to be able to relate to images of Jesus and Mary, and so the way in which they are portrayed seems for the most part to be dependent on the culture or place in which the artwork is produced. It is probable that Christ was not white, but by portraying him as white it is more likely that people in white societies will relate to the image. I suppose the same can be assumed for people of other cultures. Here are two images of "black Madonnas". The one on the left is one of my favourites. thanks for the answer...cool pics 2...I would like to see more pics like this put out there...I think it would help draw black folks to the church... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 (edited) Also in my original post its supposed to say " His hair looked like wool or something like that " I should of read it before I posted...my bad... Edited December 8, 2012 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 (edited) I guess I'm just tryin to put myself in the shoes of black folks...If I was black and always seen pics being put out there by the church that shows Jesus pale white it might turn me off. Since the Bible says he wasn't pale white.. it wouldn't be a deal breaker but it might be bothersome to some extent. Edited December 8, 2012 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 (edited) On facebook it would be cool to see pics like Spem posted from catholic websites when they put out pics of Jesus and Mary. I find that almost all the pics from these catholic pages show Jesus pale white and the same with Mary. Again even though Jesus wasn't prolly pale white I have no prob seeing pics like this. But mix it up a bit and show pics of Him black. This would be a way of reaching out to black folks to bring them into the Church. Edited December 8, 2012 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papist Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 People would be drawn to a faith b/c of its art has Jesus' skin, hair and eye color to be same as theirs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloysius Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 Our Lady of China mosaic (from the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloysius Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 religious art and iconography is not always about historical representation, for Christ was incarnated into the Hebrew lineage but moreso He was incarnated into humanity, and Our Lady and Our Lord did not end their lives when she was assumed and He ascended; I find much meaning in black madonnas and Our Lady of China pictured above and all sorts of things, I don't look for just that which looks like me in the artwork nor do I imagine that those images that do have similar features to me are historically accurate. Jesus was semitic, Hebrew, so He wasn't "black" per se, He wasn't really "white" depending on your definition of the term (not in the cliche sense of the common European artwork), I don't think it's necessary for any conscientious effort to minimize "white" portrayals and emphasize "black" portrayals, but by all means if you think people will find meaning in black madonnas, go for it on facebook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 It wasn't just about facebook. Facebook is just where I see a lot of pics of Christ put out by Catholic websites. And I just noticed all the pics show Him as white. And I just wondered why. It goes beyond facebook. Its more catholic art all together. Why just pics of Him white ? If he wasn't white why not then have pics of him black too ? Or chinese or whatever ? I mean if you're not gonna depict his actual skin color why are all the pics showing him to be white ? That was my question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 People would be drawn to a faith b/c of its art has Jesus' skin, hair and eye color to be same as theirs? not exactly what I meant. If I was black though and its historically prooven Jesus wasn't pale white skinned yet that's all I seen in pictures put out by the church I would wonder why. Why not depict him as other skin colors if you're not gonna put in pictures what he actually looked like. Why just put pics out of him pale skin blue eyed ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spem in alium Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 thanks for the answer...cool pics 2...I would like to see more pics like this put out there...I think it would help draw black folks to the church... No worries. I personally prefer images of Jesus that do not portray him as typically white, and I am white myself. I think it depends on each individual's preferences. Our Lady of China mosaic (from the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC) I am friendly with some Sisters of Our Lady of China, and I really love images like this. I think a diversity in representation is good, because to me it helps to emphasise the fact that Christ came to save humanity - people from many ethnic backgrounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basilisa Marie Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 Most pictures of Jesus portray him as white because Christianity (and christian art) was dominated by Western European culture for a VERY long time, and in some situations Christian missions got combined with western european cultural imperialism. Portraying him as anything other than white was thought of as sort of giving in to pagan things. Now we have this idea of inculturation, where it's good to use different cultural things to help people understand Christianity better. People shouldn't have to step up to a European learning curve while they're handling the Christianity learning curve. The fact that Mary almost always appears as a person of the local culture attests to this. But all of this is a very recent concept. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 Our Lady of Peking Our Lady of Akita I think it is great that Christ and Mary are often depicted according to the culture of the iconographer. I think it is a beautiful way to represent shared humanity. Definitely not the blonde American Jesus- Christ Pantocrator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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