Race, Culture and Character: Seeing Jesus

Recently painter Thomas Kinkade, “painter of light” passed away at the early age of 54. While many viewers have decided views of what they think about this art, whether it suits them or not, one thing is certain: his work was decidedly informed by his faith. Kinkade had a particular theology about his art work and tried to convey his understanding of his faith through his art. Kinkade’s passing coincided with my preparation for a class session on understanding religion and race. One of the themes I begin with is to ask students what Jesus and Mary look like. To this day, many students might remember seeing a Thomas Kinkade painting at a doctor’s office or in the hall of some academic or religious building.

But many more students recall seeing Warner Sallman’s “Head of Jesus” painting. Believe it or not, this painting was done in 1941, as World War II ravaged Europe and Asia. America at that time was still largely white, with its largest racial minority population being African American, with no other competing minority. So at that time it would not be surprising that Sallman’s Jesus looked like a young-ish white male with a beard and long hair. As many have noted, he essentially appears as a middle class male when you trim his hair and beard. This is not surprising since Jesus embodies divinity made imminent – “God for us.” So it’s not surprising that God, as imaged in Jesus, tends to have the features of the artist’s understanding of how God is accessible to him or her. As such, Jesus looks white since race often matters even to white artists. Similarly Mary, as an advocate for believers tends to appear like the people who visualize her. Read the rest here