Broggio. (Roche), Bernard. 39 ans, né en Italie. Journalier. Association de malfaiteurs. 22/3/94.

Art Historical Context

In the late 19th century, police official Alphonse Bertillon criminal identification with his pioneering "Bertillonage" system, blending precise body measurements with standardized photography. This 1894en silver print from a negative captures Bernard Broggio (also known as Roche), a39-year-old Italian-born laborer arrested for association with criminals on March 22. Titled with meticulous details—age, origin, occupation, and charges—it exemplifies Bertillon's methodical approach to documenting suspects through frontal and profile views, creating an indelible visual record. Printed in the sharp, detailed albumen process popular in the era, this diminutive 10.5 x 7 cm photograph (part of a set) highlights Bertillon's dual role as innovator and photographer. His work transformed mugshots from crude sketches into scientific tools, influencing global policing until fingerprints superseded them around 1900. Housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Gilman Collection, it offers a stark glimpse into the era's underworld and the dawn of forensic science. Though starkly functional, Broggio's portrait humanizes its subject amid the clinical gaze of justice, reminding us how photography bridged art, science, and society in fin-de-siècle France.

About the Artist

Alphonse Bertillon · 1853–1914

Alphonse Bertillon (1853–1914) was a pioneering French photographer whose work revolutionized forensic documentation, transforming police identification into a precise visual science. Born in Paris on April 22, 1853, he was the son of medical professor and statistician Louis-Adolphe Bertillon and the younger brother of demographer Jacques Bertillon. Lacking formal higher education after expulsion ...