christ
n. C / Un. the title given to Jesus, who is the central figure of the Christian religion. In art, it refers to a painting or statue that shows him.
n. the title applied to Jesus of Nazareth, regarded by Christians as the Messiah. In an art-historical context, it refers to a specific representation or depiction of Jesus in a visual medium.
The museum has a famous painting of Christ.
During the Renaissance, many artists were commissioned to paint scenes from the life of Christ for local cathedrals.
The artist's depiction of Christ departs from traditional iconography by emphasizing human vulnerability rather than divine majesty, a choice that sparked significant debate among contemporary critics.
From Middle English Crist, from Old English Crist, from Latin Chrīst(us), from Ancient Greek Χρῑστός (Khrīstós), proper noun use of χρῑστός (khrīstós, “[the] anointed [one]”), a semantic loan of Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ (māšīaḥ, “anointed”) or the Aramaic equivalent (whence ultimately also English messiah, also via Latin, Greek). Compare grime for the Proto-Indo-European root, *gʰr-ey- (“to rub, smear; to anoint”); further related to ghee.
Used as a proper noun when referring to the person; used as a countable noun when referring to a specific artwork or representation.