X-radiograph(s) of "Holy Family (copy)" 

Curator: This is an X-radiograph of a copy of Raphael's "Holy Family" at the Harvard Art Museums. It looks like a ghostly vision. Editor: Yes, there is a strange beauty to it. X-rays reveal not only the physical construction of the piece, but they give it an almost ethereal quality. Like we're seeing beyond the surface. Curator: It makes you think about layers of history, doesn't it? The original Raphael, this copy, and now this… technological gaze upon it all. What are we really seeing when we look at art? Editor: In this case, mortality, perhaps. Radiography invites us to contemplate what is not immediately visible, and what is not permanent. A shadow of the original, imbued with the weight of time. Curator: Absolutely. It's almost like a memento mori rendered in light and shadow. Editor: It really does highlight the transient nature of images and their interpretations across time. A reminder that even the most sacred subjects are subject to decay and reinterpretation.