If You've Seen This Famous Painting Of Jesus Christ Then Learn This Little Known Secret (Video)
By Mike-Ross
Many Christians beheld this famous painting of Jesus of Nazareth on their walls growing up. They almost might have seen the painting on the walls of their grandparents and other extended family. I know I did. My grandmother had the painting of Jesus on her dining room wall. Before every meal, we would hold hands, say grace, and then look at the painting. It was a family ritual and I suspect my family is not the only one that honors this painting of Jesus. If you’re a Christian, too, then you’re probably around this portrait.
While almost every Christian knows this painting, not many know the story behind it. You might assume this painting was created hundreds of years ago during the Renaissance by a painter like Leonardo di Vinci or some other great. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
This painting of Jesus is not even one hundred years old yet.
“Head of Christ,” as the painting is titled, was painted by Warner Sallman in 1924.
Although the artist from Chicago, Illinois painted more than 500 different pieces of art, his portrait of Jesus is by far his most famous. Many of his paintings depicted Christ, but “Head of Christ” stood the test of time and is still bought and sold today.
This particular portrait is estimated to have been reproduced over 500 million times and is one of the most recognizable pictures throughout the whole world.
Sallman graduated from the famed Art Institute of Chicago. He had a career as a successful commercial artist. But he also valued charity and giving back, so he volunteered as the director of art for the Covenant Companion – this was a youth magazine for the evangelical church.
The founder of the Warner Sallman Collection, Leroy Carlson, said that: “Mr. Sallman had to come up with something for that February issue.”
And that “something” was “Head of Christ.” So, as you know, the rest is history – and hanging in almost every home in America.
But the depiction of the Christ was not easy for Sallman to determine. He struggled to get it just right and became so frustrated he nearly gave up. Exhausted, he fell asleep in his studio. Then, the face of Christ appeared as a vision to him in a dream – and he knew exactly what direction to take the painting.
The image as we know it today, depicts Christ illuminated before a dark brown background. This version was completed in 1940.
In the video below, you can get more background on this iconic image of Jesus Christ. Here is what viewers like you are saying about the video report:
Dolores J. Rush wrote, “I have always loved Warner Sallman’s artwork since I was a girl. My grandmother, Mrs. Gladys Esther White O’Neal, a Sunday school teacher at Pleasant Prairie Church of God, Satanta, KS., when getting ready to write her will, asked all her descendants what they wanted of her possessions and I asked for her shepherd print and the pilot print for our son.”
“When I was a kid, before our local Church of Christ had AC, that picture was on all the hand held fans we used during the summer….with an ad from the local funeral home on the back,” contributed Robbins Mitchell.
Did you know the whole story behind this image of Christ?
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