X-radiograph(s) of "John Lucas Hammond" 

Curator: An x-ray of Thomas Sully's portrait of John Lucas Hammond...it's like a hidden skeleton of the artwork itself. Eerily beautiful. Editor: Well, that's certainly one way to put it. I see the linen support structure laid bare. The weave, the stretcher bars—the physical underpinnings. Curator: It's fascinating how this reveals the artist’s process, the layering and build-up... almost like reading the painting's DNA. Editor: It's a reminder that art isn't just about the image, it's about the labor, the materials, the very fabric it's built upon. Curator: For me, it’s a conversation between what’s seen and unseen, a ghostly dialogue between artist, sitter, and time. Editor: Indeed. It's the means of its construction, the material conditions that made its creation possible. Curator: A hidden world revealed. Editor: Quite literally.