Bastard. Élisée, Joseph, Michel. 22 ans, né à Birnel (Oise). Polisseur. Anarchiste. 20/8/93. 1893

This is an albumen print on card, made by Alphonse Bertillon. It depicts Élisée Bastard. The photograph presents a tightly framed portrait, almost clinical in its starkness, accentuated by the sepia tones characteristic of the period. Bastard’s direct gaze confronts the viewer, challenging the anonymity typically associated with such mugshots. The mugshot's composition and its inscription overlay a complex interplay of power, identity, and representation. Bertillon's system, aimed at standardizing criminal identification, ironically undermines its own claims of objectivity through its very construction. The subject’s name, profession, and the label "Anarchiste" written on the card introduce subjective categorizations, which subvert the supposed scientific neutrality. Ultimately, this photograph invites us to question the presumed authority of the photographic image and the systems of control it embodies. It reveals that these systems often generate as much distortion as clarity. The very act of naming and categorizing becomes a form of inscription, fixing the subject within a grid of social and political meanings.