Worship Info - Depictions of Deities - (Page 3 of 5)

A figure that late medieval Christians in Europe might struggle to initially recognise is Christ as the Good Shepherd, made in Goa, India, in c.1600. This small statue, crafted for private contemplation, is a fascinating depiction, showing obvious influences of images of the Buddha and Krishna on the craftsman's perceptions of how Christ should appear. Although Goa was a Portuguese and therefore Christian colony in India, other influences have clearly had an impact on the figure's appearance.

There are many images of Christ in various stages of his life in this resource, for example after his birth with his mother, as depicted by van Orley in his painting Madonna and Child, and during his death and resurrection. While these are familiar to many of us, possibly more unusual is the depiction of the Guardian, made for a Buddhist Temple. Not a god himself, he is one of four guardians who would have stood guard at the doors of the temple.

In all these cases, the artists cannot have known what the person they were depicting looked like in reality. The artist has created an image of them either as part of a tradition of such images or, in the case of the Goan sculpture, as they think they should look.