Earliest Art of Christ

 After having just recently completed a commission of the Virgin Mary, I got curious about the earliest depictions of her but then remembered some pieces I saw in my Art History classes of Christ dating as early as the 3rd century. This work, to the left, was painted on the ceiling of San Callisto's catacomb (underground burial area) near Rome, Italy. I was mostly impressed by how gentle he seems. Christ wouldn't be painted as a tall, middle-aged, beard-wielding man until centuries later when the Roman Empire was in power. Before that Christ was known as a young boy with all the mildness of a flower, often carrying a lamb over his shoulders. I greatly prefer this image of him.

 As I continued my research there seems to be a plethora of claims of Christ in art dating earlier and earlier. The oldest artifact I found was this image to the left, which is a bound booklet smaller than a credit card with an engraving of a young Jewish face with the words "Savior of Israel" in ancient Hebrew. This is believed to have been made in Christ's lifetime. It was found among other artifacts in a cave near Jordan.

What makes me so interested in these is my search for an image of Christ that equals his description in the Bible, which claimed he was not admired for his appearance. To see a carving of a young man with a nose that would rival that of a Roman's, a chin that could be used as a hammer and small eyes that almost appear angry brings me such relief.