Q. Based on the picture above, who is Jesus? Based on the picture below, who is Jesus?

There are probably more  interpretations of Jesus in Western art than there are of any other single figure. The painting above, by Marlene Dumas, shows Jesus looking tortured and well-worn, but stoic (he is defined in this painting by his patient and enduring stare). This is a very understated portrait; you may not have even known you were looking at Jesus. In this painting, he looks a bit like any other homeless person you might see wandering the street, which is probably a large part of what Dumas is communicating about his identity and history.

The picture below shows Jesus as a much more robust and jovial character, looking more like Santa Claus than the Messiah (and this Jesus apparently has a very good orthodontist).

All of which goes to show that different artists’ interpretations of the same subject are endlessly fascinating, and you as the viewer may have more power than you think to select the image which best describes your understanding of familiar subjects.