Black Jesus painting installed at Cathedral in solidarity with Black Lives Matter

Jesus is depicted as a black man in a
painting being installed at St Albans
Cathedral in solidarity with Black Lives
Matter.
‘A Last Supper’ by Lorna May Wadsworth
is inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last
Supper and depicts a black Jesus with his
arms outstretched.
Ms Wadsworth said she wanted to
challenge the “Western myth” that Jesus
had light hair and blue eyes.
The cathedral said the painting was being
placed in the North Transept as part of a
prayer installation inviting people to “look
with fresh eyes at something you think you
know”.
“At St Albans Cathedral we stand with the
Black Lives Matter movement to be allies
for change – building a strong, just and fair
community where the dignity of every
human being is honoured and celebrated;
where black voices are heard, and where
black lives matter,” the cathedral said.
The installation is available for viewing
from 4 July.
Ms Wadsworth said the painting had made
her think afresh about portrayals of Jesus.
“Painting the Last Supper altarpiece made
me really think about how we are
accustomed to seeing Jesus portrayed,”
she said.
“Experts agree he would most likely have
had Middle Eastern features, yet for
centuries European artists have
traditionally painted Christ in their own
image.
“I cast Jamaican-born model, Tafari Hinds,
as my Jesus to make people question the
Western myth that he had fair hair and blue
eyes.
“My portrayal of him is just as ‘accurate’
as the received idea that he looked like a
Florentine. I also knew that, from a
previous portrait of Tafari, there is
something in his countenance that people
find deeply empathetic and moving, which
is the overriding quality I wanted my Christ
to embody.”