X-radiograph(s) of "Filippo Archinto" 

Curator: What a fascinating image! This is an X-radiograph of "Filippo Archinto," a portrait attributed to Titian, currently held at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It's ghostly, isn't it? Like peering at a half-formed memory. All the darker elements coalescing into a face. Curator: Absolutely. And this particular view allows us a peek beneath the surface—literally. It invites analysis of the social codes inherent in the portrait, and how these get disrupted or confirmed through material analysis. Editor: The beard especially draws my eye. Beards held such weight in Renaissance portraiture. They were badges of wisdom, status, virility…it’s interesting to see that element so prominent here. Curator: Precisely. And seeing the layers allows us to question how identity is constructed, even within what we perceive as classic art. Editor: Seeing art this way, through its bones, invites us to consider more deeply its cultural echoes. Curator: It does leave one to consider the many faces, material and metaphorical, contained within a single artwork.