And the earliest Christian art was almost entirely symbolic - fish, lambs, wheel cross, chi-rho, etc... Even if elements of iconography are symbolic, they coul

And the earliest Christian art was almost entirely symbolic - fish, lambs, wheel cross, chi-rho, etc... Even if elements of iconography are symbolic, they could have easily made Jesus look any way they want, yet the standard 'Byzantine' Jesus icon gives him dark features and slightly curled hair. Seems close enough, and none of the earliest art (either purely symbolic or very Roman - possibly to hide from persecution) seems any more accurate.