Was Van Espleghem documenting ritual scarification, or perhaps a pigmentation disorder?

WSJ: Less Familiar Faces | Revealing the African Presence in Renaissance Europe | Princeton University Art Museum | By Barrymore Laurence Scherer

He told the talk show host that he had vitiligo, a disorder that destroyed his skin pigmentation.

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Some people with this disorder never experience changes in pigmentation, but others begin to produce melanin during childhood and adolescence.

CNN: Albinism