X-radiograph(s) of "Sedwick (copy)" 

Curator: At the Harvard Art Museums, we have an X-radiograph of a copy of Gilbert Stuart's "Sedwick" portrait. The image gives me a sense of peering into the past. What do you think? Editor: It's ghostly, like a face caught between worlds. It's a portrait, but the X-ray quality gives it a feeling of distance, of unearthing something hidden. Curator: X-rays reveal underdrawings and alterations, whispering stories of the artist's process. Perhaps a symbol of how we seek to understand the layers of a person, both visible and invisible. Editor: And the black square at the top? It's a modern intrusion, a stark reminder of the clinical gaze we bring to even the most human subjects. Curator: Absolutely. It's a potent reminder that we can never fully know the past, only interpret its echoes. Editor: Right, a dialogue between the artist's intention, the sitter's persona, and our own contemporary understanding. Fascinating!