X-radiograph(s) of "Still Life" Possibly 29 - 50

Curator: Here we have an X-radiograph of "Still Life," originally by William Michael Harnett. It presents us with a ghostly, almost ethereal view of the painting's composition. Editor: It’s funny, seeing it like this, the bones of the painting laid bare. A kind of archeology of art. It feels like a memento mori, a whisper of what’s beneath the surface. Curator: Absolutely. X-rays allow us to see how the artist layered paint, what objects are hiding beneath the visible surface, and even the canvas structure itself. It reveals the hidden history of the artwork. Editor: And the symbols shift! Suddenly, that pipe isn't just a pipe, it's a skeletal form. The suggestion of vanished pleasures, seen in an x-ray, is not so pleasing anymore. Curator: It's true; the symbolic register changes. The ephemeral quality of the x-ray transforms the very idea of a "still life." Editor: It really does. I feel like I understand Harnett’s intention in a completely different way now. It's a reminder that everything fades, even art...or at least the visible layer.