Rather than presenting a life of Christ in art this beautiful book explores the challenges facing artists when representing Jesus
- God who became a man. It traces how the image of Christ that we recognize today evolved over two millennia from the earliest metaphorical symbols of the Shepherd the Lamb & the Vine to the emergence of a true likeness. The book elegantly describes how artists have conveyed the paradox of Christs dual nature
- human & divine weak & powerful
- in portrayals of his infancy & it also shows how images of his suffering convey a cosmic as well as personal significance. The moments of Christs life become through art archetypes of all human experience: Christ nursed by the Virgin expresses the feelings of love every mother has for her child; Christ mocked is innocence beset by violence. A reissue of a successful book (first published in 2000) The Image of Christ" is an essential volume for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of European art in which Christian subjects have featured so prominently."