Fétis. Julien. 26 ans, né à New York (USA). Couvreur. Anarchiste. 3/3/94.
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
2005.100.375.166
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the late 19th century, criminologist Alphonse Bert revolutionized police identification with his anthropometric system, known as *bertillonage*. This 1894 albumen silver print from a glass negative captures Julien Fétis, a 26-year-old roofer born in New York, labeled "anarchiste" (anarchist) and dated March 3. Part of Bertillon's meticulous archive, the small portrait (10.5 x 7 cm) exemplifies the standardized mugshot format he pioneered—precise frontal and profile views paired with physical measurements—to catalog suspects amid France's turbulent era of anarchist unrest and bombings. Bert...
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 ...