X-radiograph(s) of "Napoleon" 

Curator: X-radiograph(s) of "Napoleon," after Jacques-Louis David, held at the Harvard Art Museums. An x-ray unveils the hidden layers of a familiar image. What do you make of this ghostly rendering? Editor: It's like seeing a secret history, the underpainting usually hidden. What does the use of x-ray reveal about our relationship to iconic images like Napoleon? Curator: The x-ray strips away the surface, the propaganda. We see the support, the very bones of the image. Consider the power Napoleon held in the cultural imagination then, and now. Does this new layer change your perception? Editor: Absolutely. Seeing the raw structure makes the image feel less like a symbol and more like an object, revealing the artist's process. Curator: The x-ray reminds us that even the most powerful images are constructed, built on layers of intention and meaning, and it reveals secrets beneath the surface. Editor: I see that, thanks, fascinating.