X-radiograph(s) of "Portrait of a Member of the Villa d'Este Family" 

Editor: This is an x-radiograph of Pietro Longhi's "Portrait of a Member of the Villa d'Este Family." It's quite striking in its starkness. What do you make of the composition and how the x-ray medium alters our perception? Curator: The transformation is significant. The x-radiograph unveils the painting's substructure, emphasizing line and form over color and texture. Note how the density of the pigments dictates the contrast; lead white, for example, renders as a bright highlight. The aesthetic resides now in the stark interplay of values. Editor: So, the essence lies in the revealed structure rather than the surface appearance? Curator: Precisely. The x-ray exposes the underlying architecture of the work, altering our engagement from surface beauty to structural analysis. Editor: Fascinating. I hadn't considered viewing it as a study of form. Curator: Indeed, it encourages a new perspective on pictorial construction.