Hannedouche. François. 31 ans, né à Lilleris (Pas de Calais). Peintre en bâtiments. Anarchiste. 1/1/93. 1893

This photograph, made by Alphonse Bertillon, depicts François Hannedouche, an anarchist, in 1893. The symbols here are stark: a man, identified and classified, made to stand as a representation of a social type deemed dangerous. Consider the mustache, a prominent feature, which, across centuries, has signified power, rebellion, and individuality. From ancient warriors to 19th-century revolutionaries, facial hair has been a marker of identity, a silent assertion of self. But here, within the rigid frame of Bertillon's identification system, the mustache becomes a detail to be cataloged, stripping it of its potential for defiant expression. The act of documentation itself is laden with symbolic weight. Bertillon's system, aimed at controlling and categorizing individuals, mirrors the broader anxieties of a rapidly changing society. The photograph, intended as a tool of surveillance, paradoxically preserves Hannedouche’s image, allowing us to ponder the complex interplay between identity, control, and memory. Even today, the gaze of Hannedouche captures the timeless struggle between the individual and the structures that seek to define him.