Jesus is perhaps one of the most depicted (and debated) figures in media. Paintings and imagery of him date as far back as 200 AD, with the romanticized versions from famous Renaissance painters like Leonardo Da Vinci showing the versions of the savior with the long-flowing locks that has become iconic amongst modern audiences. Modern media portrayals have also created popular images of what Jesus looked like, such as Jim Caviezel’s portrayal of Jesus in The Passion of the Christ and Jonathan Roumie’s version in The Chosen.

Yet historians believe that many things attributed to Jesus, particularly the flowing hair and long beard, don’t line up with what would have been common for a first century Jew in Judea. Experts suggest that Jesus’s hair would have been more black than the brown that is generally portrayed, as well as curly rather than straight. His skin would have been darker, of a more olive complexion. His beard and hair would have also been kept short in accordance with the common fashion of the day. Roman coins from the days of Jesus depict Judean captives with short, curly beards, indicating that might have been the custom. In fact, some of the earliest depictions of Jesus show Him with short hair and a clean-shaven beard.

Changes in the depictions of Jesus often followed popular trends of the culture. By the 4^th century AD, longer hair and beards became more common. In countries like Ethiopia, Jesus was portrayed with much darker skin, while countries like China depicted Him without a beard and more almond-shaped eyes. Dr Meredith Warren, senior lecturer on Biblical and religious studies at Sheffield University, spoke about the cultural influences that impacted the depictions of Jesus. “If they want to connect Jesus with the notion of the Good Shepherd or make parallels with Roman ideas about Dionysus or Apollo, he’ll have longer hair; likewise if they want to emphasise Jesus as Philosopher, who would have a longer beard. Later, when we get the idea of an all-powerful Christ as Creator, his depiction aligns with the way Zeus or Jupiter is imaged: with beard and longer hair,” she said.

The Bible itself gives very few clues as to Jesus’s appearance. Isaiah 53:2 implies that Jesus looked fairly inconspicuous, noting, “For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.” In 2015, forensic experts rendered their own version of what Jesus might have looked like, utilizing data from three Semite skulls found in Israel. Their image was a very different one than what most people might imagine, with his short black hair and beard and non-descript face. Regardless of what he might have actually looked like, the person of Jesus, both God and Man, certainly remains a captivating topic of the modern imagination.