X-radiograph(s) of "Portrait of a Man" 

Curator: The Harvard Art Museums hold this intriguing piece: an X-radiograph of "Portrait of a Man" originally by Anthonie Palamedesz. The film itself measures 14 by 17 inches. Editor: It's ghostly, almost unsettling. The stark contrast and skeletal quality give it a strange immediacy despite the subject's stillness. Curator: Indeed. X-radiography allows us to peer beneath the surface, revealing the underpainting and structure—the history embedded within the image. It tells a story of artistic process. Editor: A story shaped by evolving technologies. Consider the layers of meaning: the original artist's intent, the sitter's social status, and now, the clinical gaze of modern science. Curator: And the way the symbolic weight of portraiture shifts when rendered in this manner. We lose color and texture but gain insight into the physical construction. Editor: It really makes you think about the many ways we can view and interpret a single image, doesn't it?