The Universal Picture of Beamin' Jesus

St. Peters UMC has all the killer art

Look closely inside just about any Christian church built in the United States between 1941 and 1971, and this picture will probably be hanging somewhere in the building. It hangs in countless churches around the United States and, while Christ's depicted ethnicity might be somewhat inaccurate, the painting can become the visual for anyone who follows Christ. It's universal in a way, because even non-Christians are familiar with this glowing face and eyes turned to the sky. It's been in virtually every church I've visited since I was a preschooler. In a way for me, it's a connection to churches of my youth - places where the Organ and the Hymnal were the only things available to move your soul. It may be one of the reasons why I cry when an 80-year old hymn is played, or why I pause long enough to take a camera phone shot of something that represents so much to so many. The very act of writing about it makes me tear up. Despite the span of years I've seen this picture - in church and in my mind - I had no idea who painted it.

Until now.

Resources on the Internet indicate that this picture is actually one of a series begun in the 1920s by Warner Sallman, starting with a charcoal sketch of the 1941 "Head of Christ" which you see here. It was mass produced, in multiple sizes and just in time for deployment with soldiers during WWII. Along with its partner works - Christ at Heart's Door, Christ at Gethsemane, and The Lord Is My Shepard - Head of Christ was reproduced millions of times before Sallman's death in 1968, and subsequently millions more afterwards with the copyrights in the hands of Warner Press.

Given the media spread of this painting, it is quite possibly the most recognizable face of Jesus ever produced.

But is it an accurate depiction? Hard to say, because we don't know what Jesus looked like. To me the character in the painting looks more European than Middle Eastern, which would seem inaccurate for a carpenter from the region that is now in Northern Israel. Some even say Jesus may have been darker skinned than that. All very possible, given the trade routes and diversity throughout the land at the time.

But in the end does it matter what Jesus looked like?

I think the idea that Christ's teachings have lasted 2000 years is far more important than pursuing a visual depiction of Him. His message - laid out in the Bible's gilded pages - is one of love, acceptance, hope, optimism, wisdom, and compassion that far outweighs any picture we can paint of The Son of Man. It's that simple. Don't get me wrong: the Head of Christ painting is still cool, because it's a indelible piece of American art. Not necessarily as noteworthy as American Gothic, but every bit as compelling. Besides, it makes me think of Christ every time I see it, and what His teachings represent.

In that sense, the universal picture of Beamin' Jesus has done its job.