Breiner. Jean-Baptiste. 31 ans, né à Bar sur Aube (Aube). Mécanicien. Anarchiste. 5/3/94.
Medium
Albumen silver print from glass negative
Dimensions
10.5 x 7 x 0.5 cm (4 1/8 x 2 3/4 x 3/16 in.) each
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gilman Collection, Museum Purchase, 2005
Accession Number
2005.100.375.73
Tags
Art Historical Context
In 1894, pioneering forensic photographer Alphonse Bert captured this intimate portrait of Jean-Baptiste Bre, a 31-year-old mechanic from Bar-sur-A, France, meticulously labeled with his age, birthplace, profession, and political affiliation as an "Anarchiste." as an albumen silver print from glass negative—a crisp, detailed medium popular in the 19th century—this small 10.5 x 7 cm image exemplifies Bertillon's revolutionary "anthropometric" system, blending precise photography with physical measurements to identify criminals for French police archives. Bertillon, often called the father of m...
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 ...