How was Jesus depicted during the Middle Ages?

During the Middle Ages in Europe (a time period starting around the 5th century CE and ending around the 14th century), religion was a very important part of everyday life. Christianity rose to be the central religion of the time, and the Catholic Church became very powerful and influential. Those working in the Catholic Church thought that being able to view images of Jesus may help followers to have a deeper worshiping experience and a better understanding of religious teachings. The latter was especially important since many people in the Middle Ages did not know how to read and could not look to a written source for religious knowledge or inspiration.
During the Middle Ages, visual depictions of Jesus could be found painted on altarpieces and church walls, illustrated in books, and molded and chiseled into sculptures. Jesus was usually shown in a scene from a particular story of his life. Some of the most common scenes that artists used were from the stories are of Jesus’s birth, death, and resurrection.
The artists hired by the Catholic Church had a responsibility to create the kind of art meant to both teach and inspire. Though they did have to work within the confines of their patron's expectations and the artistic traditions of the time, many artists were able to depict Jesus’s life and teachings in their own unique way. For example, an artist could make their take on Jesus’s birth different from other paintings by adding or subtracting figures from the story, putting the figures in different locations and positions, or embellishing with different flora and fauna.
The physical depiction of Jesus also allowed for some limited creativity. Depending on the scene, Jesus could have a look of peace on his face or appear gaunt and in pain. His clothing could be stylistically different with each artist, but he was usually depicted as wearing robe-like clothes or draped fabric.
No matter what he looked like in artistic depictions, Jesus’s image in the Middle Ages was a source of personal guidance and religious understanding to many people of that time. Ultimately, we can look to depictions of Jesus as a great example of how artists' skills and creative ideas evolved during the Middle Ages.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christology/images-videos

https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages

https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/chri/hd_chri.htm