11:53 Jun 24, 2010 

Thanks Phil!

15:20 Jun 23, 2010 

Excellent answer, Sarah Elizabeth.

11:53 Jun 23, 2010 

Hi -- there's not a lot of context, and I can't tell from what you've offered what period this artist is from, but in the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance at least (roughly from the 13th century), there was a lot of emphasis in art on Christ as both a universal and historical figure -- this places emphasis on the fact that he is in the Christian view both god (universal) and human (historical).

Often artists built this conception into their work, figuring out ways to represent it visually.

The Italian Renaissance is in part founded on this artists' brief, since artists of the time sought in many cases situate Christian narratives in authentic circa year 0-30 architectural and cultural settings - this is in part the explanation for the "rebirth" of antiquity (Renaissance/rinascimento).