X-radiograph(s) of "Charles James Fox" 

Curator: Here we have an X-radiograph of Benjamin West's "Charles James Fox." It's fascinating to see beneath the surface like this, isn't it? Editor: Absolutely. It's ghostly, almost like peering into a memory. You can see the structure beneath, the canvas weave so prominent. Curator: It truly highlights the material reality. Thinking about the labor involved, the stretching of the canvas, the layering of paint… Editor: And the subject—Charles James Fox, a prominent British Whig statesman. There's a tension between this hidden process and the public persona. Curator: It’s almost like seeing the soul of the artwork, laid bare for our examination. It’s a strangely intimate view. Editor: Right, both revealing and obscuring. It makes you wonder about the unseen choices, the artist's hand at work.