Yep, it means pretty much what I told you from the start. But the whole context makes it even more interesting. So as Alex80 mentioned Ivan Nikolaevich had intended to portray Jesus in a bad way, as someone you wouldn't like. But the end result was quite different, his Jesus looked very lifelike, although without any feature that would make one to take interest in him beyond that. In other words, good but not great. There is also some wondering what kept Ivan Nikolaevich from succeeding in making a repulsive Jesus, iit was either his great talent or his ignorance of the matter.

P.S. I really like the way the author expressed that idea. Even that one little sentence shows the true scope of his talent. He used a somewhat complicated structure, yet he still managed to make it perfectly clear to anyone who can read. (Anyone who speaks Russian as their first language. Do not take offense here ) Even more than that, the whole phrase is filled with bitter irony. I can really picture the frustration of the portrayer