X-radiograph(s) of "La Prune" Possibly 15 - 48

Curator: We're looking at an X-radiograph of "La Prune," by Edouard Manet, housed here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: The image is ghostly, like a photographic negative. What strikes me is how technology can reveal the unseen layers beneath the surface, both literally in the painting and metaphorically in societal depictions of women. Curator: Exactly! The x-ray unveils the artist's process. It underscores the materiality of paint, canvas, and the labor involved in the artwork’s creation. We can ponder Manet's techniques. Editor: This process also highlights the social context of Manet’s time. How were women, particularly those like the subject of "La Prune," viewed and represented in 19th-century Parisian society? Curator: It reveals the invisible labor of the artist. Editor: And the invisible constraints faced by women then. This image pushes us to question what is seen and unseen, both in art and life.