This a picture of Jesus from Nazareth is familiar to many Christians. Many believers have this image hung in their home on the wall, others keep it as a talisman, in a wallet or in a car. But only a few know a mystery behind this image.
Perhaps, many people might think that this picture has come from ancient times to us from some famous artist. However, its creator is an American artist Warner Sallman. This talented man created more than 500 pictures but it was a “Head of Christ” painting that became his most well-known work. This picture was reproduced more than 500,000 times!
This picture was created in 1924 and was initially called “The Son of Man”. Warner was working on a cover for Christian almanack and, totally exhausted, fell asleep right at his workplace. The image of Jesus, sending out light, appeared to him that late night. Thus, the inspired artist made a sketch with a help of a charcoal.
Later on, Warner painted this work in oils on a piece of white paper, and in 1940, he presented the most well-known variant of this painting. There, Jesus is shown as if he beams light, so the name “Head of Christ” appeared. The painting became very popular and started being published in various magazines, Children’s Bibles and churches. During the Second World War, these pocket-sized versions of the picture were sold to soldiers and their wives.
Warner Sallman made a priceless contribution to the religious art. Many of his works are well-known to us from Bibles, Christian magazines and almanacks.
Warner was a person of strong beliefs. Through his paintings, he wanted to bring people to God. Even though many critics blamed him for picturing Jesus in such a passive and non-canonical way, the works of Warner Sallman are filled with pure love to God and give appeasement and evenness.
