Why is Jesus Christ typically drawn and painted the same way?

Question

Almost always Jesus is presented in artwork looking like like this, albeit with vague differences:
> http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/553/jesusnmedml6.jpg
> http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/7660/jesus111007468x591uw9.jpg
> http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/700/jesusweptlargetk5.jpg
> http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/3531/jesus6thcenturyzu1.jpg
Why is this?

Answer 1

beats me, especially since none of them really look middle-eastern

Answer 2

No one knows what Jesus Christ actually looked like. The first paintings of him were in the Roman catacombs in the third century, long after anyone had seen him. If he were an average looking Jewish man, he probably had hair only to the shoulders, a short beard, and dressed in simple robes and garments.

The various European countries throughout the centuries painted Jesus in the image of thier countrymen. There were dozens, if not hundreds of different images of Jesus in the middle ages. All these images were based on the Roman fresco.

The image of Christ which we are accustomed to today was probably decided on by the Roman Catholic Church of the Middle Ages.

Answer 3

Well, of course, the first and most original interpretations of what "Jesus" looked like were the most accurate we've had to go on. They presented the most truthful view of what "he" might've appeared as.

Hence, as time has gone on, we've looked to such early paintings and matters of art for guidance in creating new pieces.

It's like writing a paper -- you have to do research first. If you go to a library for information, you'll find it in a book. And maybe 20 years from now, the paper you've written will be in another book. Hence, whatever information you found from the first book predicts what information those will find in the future.

Answer 4

Most of the artists were 16th-17th century Europeans, who painted Christ to look like "them" - European, not Middle Eastern. (Not just Christ, you'll notice that many religious subjects looked similar in their paintings). In reality, Jesus looked liked a modern-day Jew, with Jewish physical traits. As a carpenter, and one who walked continually, he was a rugged, muscular man (able to physically drive the merchants from the temple)

Isaiah 53:2 says, "...he hath no form nor comliness, and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him." While some say this means that Jesus was not attractive, I believe it is prophetically speaking of when Jesus was beaten and crucified - with his face beat beyond human recognition.

Answer 5

Because these particular images come from the same European culture, and were probably copied off of existing paintings to begin with. If you look at images of Jesus from other regions, they're quite different.

Answer 6

artistic tradition
perhaps inspired by the Mandylion of Edessa or the Shroud of Turin
or perhaps even the Zeus of Olmpus Statue at Olympus

Answer 7

When I visited the Vatican and Italy a few years ago, Jesus was always depicted with alabaster skin, blond hair, and large blue eyes. That's very amusing considering he was Jewish and from Egypt.

Answer 8

It is because of the history and culture of his time and looks of the other people around him that people draw or painted him like that

Answer 9

Propaganda. It makes the kings and queens of the past think that their genetics were favored by God, and therefore, should always be wealthy and powerfull over the masses.
Stop believing in people being more special than you.

Answer 10

1st Corinthians 11:14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?