Christ as Salvator Mundi comes from the Gothic tradition, when artists produced images that mirrored the real world and could be touched and understood in the natural sense. That tradition led to our love of sight and touch, and the acceptance of a Jesus of physical beauty and grace.
Piero della Francesca was among the earliest artists of the Renaissance, which revived the philosophical and artistic ideals of Greece and Rome. Artists produced human but lofty images of Jesus as revealing the profound concepts of which the church and the individual were wrestling, and still wrestle with.
Looking at one we saw in class today- Warner Sallman produced a modern popular painting of Jesus that became one of the most-reproduced paintings of all time, showing up in countless churches, in Sunday School classrooms and on devotional materials. It became the dominant image of Christ in the 20th century and the one people most often recall when asked what Jesus looked like. I believe this was widely accepted because this is what we're comfortable thinking Jesus looks like, these are the characteristics that some can relate to- a loving Lord with kind eyes, familiar traits such as light brown hair, etc. It's one many Americans can relate with.
For Orozco Jesus becomes the liberator, or more narrowly, the icon of liberation. The oppressed have clung to Jeus in hope of release from injustice and from dominance by the ruling class. Images such as these become icons of hope for many, even us now, in modern day, as we view this unique portrait.
Those are just a few examples. Before when I looked at paintings of Jesus like that, I would become offended that someone dare depict Jesus in any other way than what I thought was right. Now I see that I was the one who was wrong, each of these portraits are an act of worship, showing different qualities and characteristics of our Lord. Each speaking truth in a way that different people can receive it.
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