Jacquet. Hippolyte, Edouard. 49 ans, né le 15/3/45 à Paris Ille. Sellier-maroquinier. Anarchiste. 3/7/94. 1894

This is a mugshot, created in 1894 by Alphonse Bertillon, using photography. The subject, Jacquet, stares directly at the viewer, his gaze is confrontational. This pose, reminiscent of countless portraits throughout history, bears a striking resemblance to the depictions of Roman emperors, designed to convey authority. Yet, here, the effect is subverted. Jacquet's "portrait" is not a celebration, but an act of subjugation by the state. He is an anarchist, and his direct gaze becomes an act of defiance, not dominance. Consider the act of portraiture itself. The image of a person, carefully rendered, has deep roots in memorializing the dead. The mugshot, in a cruel twist, preemptively marks Jacquet, freezing him in a state of anticipation of his symbolic death in society. This image captures a moment, yet it echoes through time, a constant cycle of power and resistance, played out through the human face.