X-radiograph(s) of "Madonna and Child with Four Saints" 

Curator: This is an X-radiograph of "Madonna and Child with Four Saints," attributed to Maso di Banco. What strikes you? Editor: Haunting, spectral. It's like viewing a memory, not the thing itself. A ghost of maternal love filtered through layers of history. Curator: Exactly! The X-ray reveals the underpainting, the artist's process, the very bones of the work. It strips away color, texture, and leaves only form. Editor: It also highlights the power structures inherent in art institutions. Who gets to look behind the curtain? Who decides which stories are told, and how? This radiographic technology certainly adds another layer to that complexity. Curator: Absolutely, like a peek behind the curtain to the artist's intentions. I think I would like to think about it as a kind of visual poem, the kind that whispers secrets about the past. Editor: Yes, it's a potent reminder of the layers that constitute not only art, but also the societies from which they spring.