X-radiograph(s) of "Holy Family" 

Curator: This is an X-radiograph of the "Holy Family," after Hugo van der Goes, held here at the Harvard Art Museums. An X-ray offers a view of the painting we cannot see with the naked eye. Editor: It feels like peering through time, doesn't it? Like a ghostly echo of the original, all blurred and fragmented. Kind of unsettling. Curator: The lighter areas indicate denser materials, like lead white pigment, which would have been used extensively in the underpainting. Editor: So, we’re seeing the artist’s initial thoughts, the bones of the composition, before the flesh of color was added? It makes you wonder about the changes he made along the way. Curator: Precisely. These radiographs are invaluable tools, helping us understand the artist's process and the materials they employed. Editor: This shadowy glimpse offers a strange intimacy with a work so rooted in tradition. Curator: Indeed, revealing layers of history and intention within this familiar subject.