Widcoq. Alfred, François, Adolphe. 32 ans, né à Fressenneville (Somme). Mécanicien. Anarchiste. 10/3/94.
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
2005.100.375.430
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the late 19th century, criminologist Alphonse Bert revolutionized police work with his "anthropometric system," known as bertillonage. This 1894 albumen silver print from a negative captures Alfred François Adolphe Widq, a 32-year-old mechanic from Fressenneville in the Somme region, labeled an "anarchiste." The tiny portrait (just 10.5 x 7 cm) exemplifies Bertillon's meticulous mugshot technique: precise frontal and profile views, annotated with the subject's vital statistics and arrest date of March 10, 1894. Housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Gilman Collection, it offers a stark ...
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 ...