Margerand. Claude. 32 ans, né le 24/3/61 à Beaujeu (Rhône). Cordonnier. Anarchiste. 3/7/94.

Art Historical Context

In 1894, pioneering forensic photographer Alphonse Bertillon this stark portrait of Claude Marger, a 32-year-old shoemaker from Beaujeu in France's Rhône region, labeled as an "anarchiste." The image, part of Bertillon's meticulous identification system, records Margerand's details—birthdate March 24, 1861, and arrest date July 3, 1894—in precise, bureaucratic script, transforming a personal record into a haunting artifact of late 19th-century criminal justice. Bertillon revolutionized policing with his anthropometric method, combining body measurements with standardized mugshots taken from frontal and profile views. This small albumen silver print from a glass negative exemplifies his clinical approach, where photography served science over artistry. Amid France's turbulent 1890s "Age of Anarchism," marked by bombings and social unrest, such images documented perceived threats, blending portraiture with surveillance. Housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Gilman Collection, this 10.5 x 7 cm photograph invites reflection on how visual records shaped identity and power, turning ordinary faces like Margerand's into symbols of an era's fears and innovations in forensic documentation.

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 ...