X-radiograph(s) of "Deposition" 

Curator: Here we have an X-radiograph of "Deposition," originally by Caravaggio. The Harvard Art Museums hold this revealing look beneath the surface. Editor: It's eerie, almost ghostly. The face, barely discernible, seems to emerge from a shroud. It strips away the color, the drama, leaving only the underlying structure. Curator: The radiograph allows us to see the artist's process, the pentimenti, the changes he made. These layers of revision offer insight into Caravaggio's evolving vision. Editor: It makes you think about what we choose to reveal and conceal, both in art and in life. What stories are hidden beneath the surface, waiting to be uncovered? Curator: Precisely. It's a testament to how art history constantly revisits and reinterprets canonical works. Editor: A reminder that even the most iconic images are complex and mutable.