Gelhausen. Jean. 55 ans, né à Grevennemache (Luxembourg). Cordonnier. Infraction à la loi du 18/12/93. 1893

Curator: Let’s turn our attention to this striking photograph from 1893, taken by Alphonse Bertillon. It’s titled “Gelhausen. Jean. 55 ans, né à Grevennemache (Luxembourg). Cordonnier. Infraction à la loi du 18/12/93." The full title translates to "Gelhausen. Jean. 55 years old, born in Grevennemache (Luxembourg). Shoemaker. Violation of the law of 12/18/93." Editor: My initial impression is one of stark vulnerability. There's an immediacy here that transcends the historical context. It is deeply human, a face stripped bare. Curator: It's a fascinating collision of art and science, isn’t it? Bertillon was a pioneer in using photography for criminal identification, what he termed "anthropometry". This is a mugshot, essentially, a record. But the portrait's direct gaze and evident emotion push it beyond mere documentation. Editor: Precisely! It speaks volumes about power, the state apparatus, and how individuals are reduced to data points. Look at the subject’s weary eyes, the handwritten details below. Each element reveals how systems can dehumanize. What "law" did Jean violate, and what does that law reflect about the era? Curator: Bertillon sought objective truth, believing measurements and photographs could irrefutably identify criminals. His system, however, perpetuated biases. Certain physiognomic traits became associated with criminality, impacting marginalized communities disproportionately. Editor: It highlights the pseudo-science employed to uphold existing power structures, which are obviously patriarchal and exclusionary. Looking at this image through an intersectional lens makes it possible to connect the artwork to sociopolitical realities. Jean’s “crime” could easily have been an act of survival against systemic oppression. Curator: Absolutely, this photograph as cultural artifact asks us to interrogate whose truths are validated. Consider how the act of recording a face changed visual perceptions and assumptions of guilt. Even the frame—the physical structure encasing Jean’s image—mirrors an oppressive system, right? Editor: Ultimately, Gelhausen Jean's image remains potent precisely because of this tension. It invites dialogue, disrupts simplistic historical narratives, and holds a mirror up to contemporary anxieties about surveillance, marginalization, and power. It really underscores how necessary it is to critically re-examine even the most “objective” historical records. Curator: Indeed. Jean’s gaze—staring through the patina of time—reminds us that visual information contains layered perspectives, never neutral or devoid of power.