Depicting Christ’s likeness transformed European visual culture.

Evidence

The decision to try to depict the face of Christ – probably taken because the Roman elite were so used to seeing their gods in statues, paintings and mosaics – was both a major theological step and one of the decisive turning points in European visual culture. — Neil MacGregor, A History of the World in 100 Objects, 697

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Neil MacGregor, A History of the World in 100 Objects, 697