The Faces of Mary and Jesus

I am looking at two images of the Virgin Mary on the wall as I write this. In one she is a fresh-faced girl being told by an angel that she will give birth to Jesus. In the other she is slightly older and staring down in thought. She is obviously not yet at the Crucifixion but her sad face shows she is aware of the future that faces her son.

I have one image of Jesus - an Orthodox icon that shows a young man with a halo giving a blessing with his right hand and holding a book in his left.

I love these paintings, particularly the Angelus as the portrait of Mary reminds me of my daughter who is the mother of two young daughters. The painting of Jesus has a spiritual aspect that never fails to comfort me. I pray in front of these images every morning.

Despite my attachment to the paintings I know that they are almost certainly not accurate likenesses. Mary has blue eyes and a porcelain skin while Jesus has warm dark eyes, a neatly trimmed beard and an elongated nose and face like an El Greco portrait.

In real life Mary and Jesus more likely resembled the Semitic people of their day whose descendants still live in the Holy Land.

Reproductions have been made based on skulls from that period showing that Jesus probably looked very different from the conventional Western view we have of him as a long haired hippy type with beard and sandals preaching peace and love. Mary also probably had a Mediterranean olive complexion and dark hair. See below for links to articles.

Different cultures have created their versions of Mary. For example, in Brazil she is portrayed as a black woman who appeared to three fishermen in the area of Aparecida in São Paulo state in 1717. She is the patron saint of Brazil and Aparecida has become an important destination for pilgrims who pray at a huge Basilica.

In Mexico she is portrayed as an Indian woman. The place where she appeared in front of an Indian in 1531, Guadalupe, is also the site of a Basilica and is a pilgrimage destination. Contrary to some views she is not just the patron saint of Latin American countries but of all the Americas, including the United States and Canada.

I have also seen illustrations of Our Lady Queen of Africa as a black woman with a black baby Jesus and Our Lady of China holding a Chinese baby Jesus.

At the end of the day it does not really matter what Mary and Jesus looked like but as they both lived on earth in human form we cannot help but wonder.

In contrast it is impossible to imagine what God the Father and the Holy Spirit look like. I doubt if any Catholic takes the portrayal of God as an old man with a flowing white beard seriously.

Perhaps we should follow the example of the Jews who did not portray him and even regarded God´s name as so sacred that they did not dare to pronounce it or write it down.

© John Brander Fitzpatrick 2025

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35120965

https://www.playgroundweb.com/eng/what-was-the-virgin-mary-like-artists-reimagine-her-as-a-nomad-4495