Roobin. Joseph. 40 ans, né à Bourgneuf (Loire-Inférieure). Terrassier. Anarchiste. 2/3/94
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
2005.100.375.367
Tags
Art Historical Context
In 1894, French forensic pioneer Alphonse Bertillon captured this stark portrait of Joseph Roobin a 40-year-oldassier (earthworker from Bourgneuf in Loire-Inférieure, simply as an "Anarchiste." Part of Bertillon's groundbreaking anthropometric system—known as "Bertillonnage"—the image served as official police identification during a turbulent era in France. The 1890s saw heightened fears of anarchist violence, including bombings and assassinations under the banner of "propaganda of the deed," making such mugshots crucial tools for tracking political radicals like Roobin. Bertillon, chief of ...
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 ...