Paintings are more realistic with the addition of shadows which add another dimension envisioned by the artist, enhancing the relationship of individual and creation. IF you mean why didn't Jesus sit in for a portrait by a Da Vinci caliber artist then the answer should be obvious.
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M*W: I'm not sure I understand what you meant when you said 'adding shadows creates another dimension,' yes, I understand this, art is a combination of highlights and shadows. In art, let's say, paintings, there are no solid lines but highlights abutting shadows. But I still don't get your point in this discussion. What is the significance of your Art 101 instruction?
I wasn't really thinking along the lines of Jesus posing for a portrait, because if he was of the stature christians believe him to be, somebody out there would have created some art form of him somewhere. Yes, I know there are all kinds of pictures (not portraits) of Jesus and the Holy Family all over the world, but again, these weren't portraits just man-made images from the artist's mind or replicas from other artists' conceptions. That doesn't make these people real. In fact, since we discussing art here, where do you think the idea of Jesus and the Holy Family came from? It came from the other holy family of Isis, Osiris and Horus.
Just because there are a gazillion paintings of Jesus doesn't mean that he existed in reality. There are also paintings of dragons, unicorns and pixies.
It would be more believable if someone who had actually known Jesus personally would have drawn a stick figure of him. A Da Vinci-quality portrait wouldn't be absolute proof of Jesus's existence. Yet, as many paintings as Da Vinci did of Jesus and his peers, Da Vinci himself didn't believe in Jesus's existence! Why, then, did Da Vinci paint so many scenes of the Holy Family if he believed they didn't exist? I suppose therein lies the alleged code.
You even answer the question yourself with the examples you cite.
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M*W: Please enlighten me. What question did I answer?
Jesus inspired the most magnificent creations known to humanity, specifically artistic representations.
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M*W: Jesus didn't inspire anything. The inspiration came from within the psyche of the artist. The artists believed in him or they didn't. As with any product, its creator makes it saleable so the sheeple would buy it. It's nothing more than the economic factor of supply and demand. If I were a painter of art, I'd paint scenes of Jesus, too, because they would sell, so the artists who painted scenes of Jesus offer no proof of their reality.
This represents the artists interpretation of the entombment of Jesus. Some overemphasis of musculature is common. It is the subtleties of creation that are hardest to reproduce. The artist and his abilities can only come so close before the line between masterpiece and blank paper become blurred.
http://www.wga.hu/art/c/caravagg/07/37depos.jpg
http://www.clevelandart.org/museum/collect/highlights/high24.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Testament_view_on_Jesus'_life
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M*W: I studied several paintings by Caravaggio, including his entombment. He portrays a darkness with his excessive use of shadow and minimal highlight. This is concurrent throughout all the paintings I studied (from the Internet). There is a morbidity portrayed in his work. I imagine Caravaggio to be depressed and forelorn. His work reminds me of El Greco in ways, although El Greco's work is more enigmatic, Caravaggio's work has a feeling of sadness throughout. He was an amazing artist in his own right, but I wouldn't claim him to be one of my favorites. Depressed people might take a liking to his techniques, though.
Can you explain your statement further? be specific.
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M*W: John, you've lost me again. I wish I was telepathic so I could understand what you are trying to say.
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