Ravinet. Gaston. 34 ans, né à Paris XIXe. Couvreur. Anarchiste. 1/3/94. 1894

Curator: Before us, we have a compelling gelatin silver print dating to 1894. It is titled, “Ravinet. Gaston. 34 ans, né à Paris XIXe. Couvreur. Anarchiste. 1/3/94.” and attributed to Alphonse Bertillon. Editor: It strikes me immediately as a stark portrayal of vulnerability, perhaps even defiance, captured in the gaze of the subject. There's a sadness but also a resolve in his eyes. Curator: Indeed. The image serves as an identity card of sorts, typical of Bertillon’s mugshots documenting arrestees in France, where each marker serves to quantify, classify, and file. We can't miss the cultural association of his overt association with the anarchist movement. Editor: Right, and seeing the man identified explicitly as "Anarchist" makes me think about the time's broader sociopolitical context. Anarchists represented resistance against state power; marking him that way wasn't just descriptive—it was a statement from the authorities. Curator: Absolutely. His face, with that carefully cultivated mustache, reads as almost theatrical. One could speculate if that self-fashioning might have played a part in defining his identity but also inadvertently setting him apart for scrutiny. Editor: I see it. And given photography’s growing popularity, his carefully framed face could be seen both as personal agency and something else that might make him susceptible and recognizable in a society wary of dissent. I wonder, how complicit was the photographic act in the policing of the moment? Curator: What endures for me in this compelling, straightforward composition is its layered expression—its ability to communicate individuality as it simultaneously makes this anarchist both icon and specimen. Editor: Yes, that tension, that push-and-pull between individual experience and systemic forces. This is why viewing art, even what seems to be purely documentation, becomes so powerful for understanding our history and ourselves.