Gatinet. Pierre, Adrien. 50 ans, né le 13/10/43 à Bourges (Cher). Charpentier. Anarchiste. 2/7/94.
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
2005.100.375.180
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the late 19th century, forensic pioneer Alphonse Bertillon criminal identification with his "Bertillonage" system a meticulous anthropometric method combining precise body measurements, physical descriptions, and standardized photographs. This 1894 albumen silver print from a glass negative captures Pierre Adrien Gatinet, 50-year-old carpenter Bourges labeled as an "anarchiste." At just 10.5 x 7 cm, the small portrait exemplifies Bertillon's clinical mugshot style: a full-face view with exacting detail, inscribed with the subject's vital statistics and arrest date of July 2, 1894. Taken am...
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 ...