X-radiograph(s) of "Mrs. Joseph Warren (Elizabeth Hooton)" 

Editor: This is an X-radiograph of John Singleton Copley's "Mrs. Joseph Warren (Elizabeth Hooton)". It looks so fragile and ghostly. What can you tell me about this work through a formalist lens? Curator: The radiographic process lays bare the structure. Consider how the composition—the subject's bust framed tightly—transforms when viewed solely through material density. The lines, the texture of the canvas, become the dominant visual elements. Editor: So, it’s less about the person and more about the physical makeup of the art object? Curator: Precisely. The stark contrast reveals the artist’s process, the very bones of the artwork. We can analyze its structural integrity, the layering of paint, without the distraction of representational content. Editor: I see it now! It’s like an abstract study of form, revealed by science. Curator: Indeed. And it compels us to reconsider what constitutes the essence of a painting.