Black Jesus

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

This oil painting depicts a human figure with arms extended horizontally. The figure wears a long loose dark red/brown robe that flares outward towards the hem. The figure's head, an oval with two white spots for eyes as the only defined features, has short lines radiating outward from the scalp. There are two small round red spots over the figure's chest. At the ends of each horizontal arm is a larger oblong of paint. Each oblong has a streak of red trickling from the center. At the bottom of the figure are two short triangular brush strokes. Each triangular shape has a red streak running through the middle. To the right of the figure are two short vertical lines crossed by three horizontal short lines. They are done in a dark reddish-brown color. Pencil lines are visible underneath the brush strokes.

Explore Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture ↗