Why this 15th-century 'Jesus-lamb' painting is creeping people out

[admin]

A famous 15th-century altarpiece has been restored in Belgium, and people are freaked out by the artist's original image of a human-faced Jesus sheep.

Why this 15th-century 'Jesus-lamb' painting is creeping people out : Read more

 

[WrittenWhisper]

It's creepy because it is ugly. It looked much better before "restoration".

 

[WrittenWhisper]

That's not a restoration. That's forgery.
There's nothing human-like in this forgery - the ****** the criminal that did the forging displaced its eyes which originally lay on the sides to the front of its scull / face, and made a fake predator out of it. No sheep can look you straight in the eye.
And no bull can do that either - because if it could...

You have seen some (a lot of them actually) the paintings/artworks of periods past right? They weren't exactly true to life. Artists didn't think in terms of "I think I'll make this sheep look like a predator" many artists liked to have both eyes looking out (toward the viewer).

Also, it would be defacing, not a forgery.

 

[Minamii]

Of course, it could just be that whichever artist painted it originally just couldn't draw sheep very well...

 

[BunnyOlesen]

That's not a restoration. That's forgery.
There's nothing human-like in this forgery - the ****** the criminal that did the forging displaced its eyes which originally lay on the sides to the front of its scull / face, and made a fake predator out of it. No sheep can look you straight in the eye.
And no bull can do that either - because if it could...

I like this comment. That is the correct amount of anger.

I want to say something to the people must not have taken the time, or perhaps are unable to make a comparison between the original and the restored piece. The reasoning that: "many artworks of the past were not exactly realistic, sometimes the eyes were on the front because they wanted an animal to look more human" doesn't fly here. YES that is true, however, one can clearly see from the original piece that was not the case on this painting.
The ears are in a different place. The nose and mouth has been raised and shape of the nostrils and nasal bone are completely different, the top of the head has been flattened and has a different shape along with ridiculous curlies not seen in the original painting (in the original, the height of the head is not a sheep 'hair-do' it's the natural shape of a sheep skull) The eyes lay directly on the sides of the head - ON THE SIDE - not in the front. The left jawline has also been moved in. This is a terrible and false 'restoration' and not the original face.

 

[KuriousKate]

I don't understand why it would. It represents one of the names of Christ "The Lamb of God", and many times there are visions where angels have the faces of lions, eagles, bulls, etc. representing different qualities of God, such as justice, wisdom, and power.

 

[Giganotosaurus]

I do not see anything disturbing about this painting. It is just Christian symbolism. Emmett m. Smith

 

[Jasoncc]

Jesus has always been referred to as "The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." John 1:29 I've seen pictures of the restored 15th century altar piece and it didn't surprise me as much as people without any biblical grounding being freaked out by it.

 

[NorthernLights]

Jesus has always been referred to as "The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." John 1:29 I've seen pictures of the restored 15th century altar piece and it didn't surprise me as much as people without any biblical grounding being freaked out by it.

It looks like any depiction of a mythical human/animal to me, just a lot less human than animal. I'm Pagan, but from a Christian background and am aware of the "Lamb of God"reference you mention and of depictions of three of the Four Evangelists as animals (the fourth is shown as a man or angel). So I wasn't particularly freaked out by it.

 

[Lucille]

This painting does not look like a lamb at all. I've seen lambs before at children's animal farms and in photographs of them looking at wildfires in California and wondering how to escape. But, yes, Jesus is the "... lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world ..." He is the final sacrifice.

 

[Minamii]

I run a childcare business and have a bookcase full of children's books containing images of animals that are wildy anthropomorphised. All of them have eyes placed on the front with no regard to how they look in the natural world. They also somehow manage to all walk on their hind legs and often have hands of some form, even though they may be "disguised" with a hoof or paw-ish colour or shape. Plus they can all apparently talk using verbal language and understand each other's language.
This is something humans have been doing for millenia, from cave paintings and romping about wearing animal skins to today. It's a very human quality.

 

[ZipFile]

A famous 15th-century altarpiece has been restored in Belgium, and people are freaked out by the artist's original image of a human-faced Jesus sheep.

Why this 15th-century 'Jesus-lamb' painting is creeping people out : Read more

In the first unrestored the eyes are on the side of the head and slanted and in the restored the eyes are facing foreward so the restoration is actually destruction

 

[KMacK]

Because it is a visual contradiction. When we see human eyes, we expect a human face and, well, it just ain't there. When we see an animal (lamb) we expect sheep-styled eyes. When both are included in the same image and appropriately placed, it makes our "little grey cells" get confused.
It is a great conversation starter, though... especially about "Have you been saved?" I suspect that was one of the intentions behind the painting.

 

[JeetsN123]

It isn't really freaky, but something about its jaw and neck look off.

 

[Valentine Michael Smith]

I run a childcare business and have a bookcase full of children's books containing images of animals that are wildy anthropomorphised. All of them have eyes placed on the front with no regard to how they look in the natural world. They also somehow manage to all walk on their hind legs and often have hands of some form, even though they may be "disguised" with a hoof or paw-ish colour or shape. Plus they can all apparently talk using verbal language and understand each other's language.

And look at the childishness of people, particularly non-adults. Fantasy and humanocentrism pervade their minds.