X-radiograph(s) of "Madonna and Child" 

Curator: This is an X-radiograph of "Madonna and Child," a work attributed to Raphael, currently held at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: My first impression is one of ghostly layers, a kind of historical palimpsest revealed through the scientific gaze. The darkness disrupts what I imagine to be the original composition. Curator: Precisely. X-radiography allows us to peer beneath the surface, past the aesthetic presentation, and expose the material conditions of the painting’s creation, revealing hidden aspects of artistic production, and the conservation process. Editor: And consider the socio-political implications! The Madonna and Child is an image laden with power dynamics, and this rendering, or un-rendering, through radiographic technology, feels like a powerful deconstruction of those narratives. Curator: Indeed. It underscores how institutional practices, like radiography, reshape our understanding of art and its role within a broader cultural framework. Editor: Seeing it this way, it really makes you question the layers of meaning we ascribe to images, even the seemingly timeless ones.