Abstract
Alphonse Bertillon’s system of identification has taken a place in the canon of photographic history ever since several key texts published in the 1980s demanded scholarly attention to repressive as well as honorific portraits. This article focuses on Bertillon’s most spectacular accomplishment, which resulted in the worldwide adoption of his techniques: the 1892 arrest and identification of the famed anarchist Ravachol. Ravachol’s identification became a highly publicised struggle over the image of both the state and the anarchist during the height of anarchism in Europe.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 245-263 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Journal | History of Photography |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue number | 3-4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2021 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Visual Arts and Performing Arts
Keywords
- 1859–92)
- Alphonse Bertillon (1853–1914)
- Ravachol (François Claudius Koenigstein
- anarchism
- anthropometry
- identification
- international policing
- portraits
- propaganda of the deed