X-radiograph(s) of "Charles I and his Family" 

Curator: This is an X-radiograph of "Charles I and his Family," after Anthony van Dyck. The film size is 14 by 17 inches, part of the collection here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It’s like looking through a veil, a ghost of an image. I get the feeling of uncovering something hidden, a secret portrait. Curator: Indeed. An X-ray reveals under layers, pentimenti, changes made by the artist that aren't visible to the naked eye. What can we learn from these spectral traces about Van Dyck's process? Editor: It's a bit like archeology for paintings. You see how things shifted, what the artist reconsidered. It makes me think about the king's own shifting image, the careful construction of power and family. Curator: Absolutely. And it reminds us that even the most polished surface has a complex history beneath. Editor: In the end, it's all layers, isn't it? History, art, ourselves.