Shadowgraphy: A Reconstruction of X-ray Photography as of 1895

This exhibition reconstructs German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen’s early experiments in x-ray photography and highlights the significance of art and science in his x-ray work. X-rays were ‘discovered’ when Röntgen unexpectedly noticed the projection of rays on a small piece of sensitized paper. He froze the fleeting shadows in time using photographic methods. Borrowing objects from the Harvard Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, the exhibition shows how Röntgen integrated the two practices of physics and photography to produce the first shadow picture.