“This rigorous and innovative study makes a vital contribution to an ongoing debate about the emergence and crystallization of a particular physiognomy for Jesus in Christian art. Drawing upon comparative material from other religious traditions in the ancient world, the author demonstrates an impressive facility with, and command of, a broad range of evidence. Bacci’s fresh insights are compelling and will engage readers from a range of backgrounds and scholarly disciplines.” 

 

 

Felicity Harley-McGowan, University of Melbourne

“This erudite and very innovative book on the invention of Christ’s portrait is the first such study to give full weight to the influence of biblical and later texts that deal with iconic, ascetic beauty.” 

 

 

Jean-Michel Spieser, University of Fribourg, Switzerland

“What did Jesus of Nazareth look like? Did he have curly or long, blond or black hair, was his beard short or flowing? Written by a brilliant scholar and narrator, this book is the first comprehensive history of the shaping of Christ’s face in Eastern and Western Christianity from Late Antiquity to the Renaissance. It analyses the search for and promotion of authentic images and authoritative texts. Addressing a wider public, the book offers groundbreaking insights into the religious imagination regarding the nature and role of holy men not only in Christianity but also in Buddhism, Jainism, Taoism, and Islam.” 

Professor Dr. Gerhard Wolf, Director, Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz, Max-Planck-Institut.