X-radiograph(s) of "Lady with a Pink" 

Curator: The ghostly image before us is an X-radiograph of "Lady with a Pink," originally created by Rembrandt. It's housed here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It's unsettling, almost like a half-formed memory. The visible underpainting gives a sense of the artist's process that's usually hidden. Curator: Exactly! The x-ray reveals the physical layering of materials, a material record of Rembrandt's studio practice and perhaps even his economic situation, reusing canvas. Editor: It makes me think about the female gaze, power structures, and how Rembrandt's female subjects have been historically viewed and, in many ways, exploited. The x-ray strips away layers of artifice, revealing a bare infrastructure. Curator: The canvas itself becomes a site of artistic labor and resourcefulness. Editor: Yes, a testament to the many layers of context that shape an image. Curator: Seeing it this way helps appreciate art history as a continuing story of material and social practice. Editor: Absolutely, it reminds us that art is never truly finished; it's a perpetual process of interpretation.