Ricois. Charles-Victor. 48 ans, né le 21/3/46 à Orléans. Employé au Journal Officiel. 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
2005.100.375.358
Tags
Art Historical Context
This poignant albumen silver print from a glass negative, created by Alphonse Bertillon in 1894, captures Charles-Victor Ricois, a 48-year-old employee at the Journal Officiel in Orléans. Measuring just 10.5 x 7 cm, it exemplifies Bertillon's pioneering "anthropometric" system—known as Bertillonage—developed for the Paris Prefecture of Police. This methodical approach standardized criminal photography with precise frontal and profile views, measurements, and meticulous notations, revolutionizing forensic identification in an era before fingerprints dominated. Bertillon, a polymath and innovat...
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 ...