X-radiograph(s) of "Adoration of the Magi (repetition of a painting by Jacopo Bassano in the Kunsthistorische Museum, Vienna #272)" 

Curator: It appears almost ghostly, doesn't it? Like a memory fading at the edges. Editor: Indeed. What we're seeing is an X-radiograph of a painting related to Jacopo Bassano's "Adoration of the Magi," likely from his school, held here at the Harvard Art Museums. It's a peek behind the curtain, revealing the artist's process. Curator: The Virgin's downcast gaze, even in this skeletal form, retains such tenderness. It's incredible how the essential emotional weight transcends the material. Editor: It certainly speaks to the power of the Adoration scene, a visual trope that reinforced religious and social hierarchies. The public display of such images was carefully managed. Curator: Absolutely. And seeing it stripped bare like this, almost devoid of color and texture, highlights how much the symbolic power lies in the composition itself, a cultural echo resonating through layers of paint. Editor: Perhaps this view also democratizes the image, removing it from the gilded frame and engaging with the physical reality of its making. Food for thought. Curator: Precisely. It reminds us that even the most familiar images have hidden depths, waiting to be unveiled. Editor: Yes, revealing that art, regardless of its final polish, often carries the quiet history of its own making.