No, this is not at all an unfortunate image of Christ, but a highly revered Catholic saint, best known under the name of Vilgefortis with a beard that is very traditional for her iconography …
However, a certain similarity with the Savior is noticeable even with the naked eye and, apparently, is absolutely not accidental.
But how did Jesus “become” the woman with the beard?
The first mentions of the saint who allegedly lived in the second century appear in Europe only in the XIV century and say that the girl was the daughter of a pagan king and at an early age was promised by her father to marry one of the princes against her will. But Vilgefortis gave a celibate dinner and prayed fervently, wishing to find a repulsive appearance, so that the marriage was not destined to take place.
Her prayers were answered, and one day a young and beautiful girl grew a real beard.
Of course, the prince refused to marry a bearded woman, and then the distraught father ordered Vilgefortis to be crucified.
Despite the apparent doubtfulness of the events described, the exciting story was immensely popular in Europe and formed the basis of many religious works of art.
Promotional video:
Saint Vilgefortis on the icon from 1513.
In Catholicism, Vilgefortis is considered a saint and many people do not even have doubts about her reality, but there is a more reasonable explanation for the appearance of such an unusual image of a bearded woman.
The origins of the iconography of the saint can be found in the Eastern representations of the crucified Christ, and in particular the carved wooden figures of the Savior, which became widespread in the 11th-12th centuries, in which He is depicted as a bearded man fully dressed in a tunic, and not slightly covered with cloth in the lumbar region, as He has traditionally been portrayed in the West.
The original figurines did not cause confusion, however, being copied many times by traders far from religion and more interested in getting profit as soon as possible than in exact copying of "unnecessary" details, they acquired features that were far from the original ones.
According to one of the most probable versions, after the unsuccessful copies got to Europe, they were repurposed to explain a new and unfamiliar image, which explains the appearance of a certain Vilgefortis so similar to Christ.
It is noteworthy that in some regions the saint's popularity was so great that often her images were simply altered from the images of Christ by dressing him in women's clothing and even adding breasts.
However, as you yourself may have noticed with realism, such masterpieces of religious creativity clearly had problems …
