X-radiograph(s) of "Nativity" 

Editor: This is an X-radiograph of "Nativity" by Benjamin Cuyp. It is a bit ghostly looking, isn't it? What can you tell me about the imagery revealed in this view? Curator: Indeed. The X-ray reveals the artist's process, like archaeology of the artistic mind. Notice the swirling forms—do they remind you of traditional depictions of divine light or perhaps something more turbulent? Editor: I see the light, but also, maybe angels in the air? Curator: Perhaps. Consider how light and darkness play in religious art across cultures. What emotional weight does that visual vocabulary carry here? Editor: It makes me think about how even familiar images have hidden depths, literally and figuratively. Curator: Precisely. It shows how images carry cultural memory, reinterpreted across generations.