Bedei. Hercule. 21 ans, né à Sorli (Italie). Tailleur d'habits. Anarchiste. 1/3/94. 1894

This mugshot of Bedei Hercule, a 21-year-old anarchist, was produced by Alphonse Bertillon using photography and paper in 1894. The sepia tone flattens the image, emphasizing its structured format over nuanced expression. The composition is dominated by the subject’s face and upper body, symmetrically framed. Bertillon’s adoption of photography brought ‘scientific’ methods of standardization to the way the criminal body was represented. By controlling elements like pose, lighting, and framing, the image seeks to strip away individuality. The subject's features and adornments are reduced to measurable data points. This relates to the broader idea of panopticism, where surveillance and categorization aim to control and define individuals within society. Note how the mugshot's seemingly objective form belies its role in a larger system of social control and power relations. The meaning of this photograph shifts over time, resisting any fixed interpretation.