X-radiograph(s) of "Pieta" 

Curator: What an unusual image to contemplate; it’s an X-radiograph of the "Pieta," after Marco Basaiti. The starkness is almost unnerving. Editor: Indeed. The grayscale tonality seems to strip away the layers of sentimentality usually associated with the Pieta theme, leaving only the essential form. Curator: Quite so, the skeletal structure appears to emphasize mortality, while the composition is radically flattened. Editor: It’s fascinating how this radiographic perspective changes our understanding of the original artwork’s reception and what it signifies within a religious and cultural context. The layers of paint and canvas become irrelevant. Curator: A study in pure form, then. Editor: Precisely. It compels a re-evaluation of artistic expression and challenges the conventional interpretation of art history.