Widcoq. Fulgence, Ignace. 36 ans, né à Fressenneville (Somme). Mécanicien. Anarchiste. 10/3/94. 1894

This mugshot of Widcoq Fulgence, a 36-year-old anarchist and mechanic, was made in 1894 by Alphonse Bertillon, using photographic paper and printing techniques. The photograph is part of a series documenting individuals processed through the French legal system. Its material qualities – the flat, sepia tones, the standardized format – speak to the industrialization of record-keeping and the rise of bureaucratic systems. Photography, once a novel technology, became a tool for social control, categorizing and labeling individuals. Consider Widcoq’s own profession. Mechanics were integral to the era's rapidly changing technology and burgeoning industry. His self-identification as an anarchist suggests a consciousness of labor and class, a resistance to the very systems that sought to document and contain him. Looking at this photograph, we can see the convergence of industry, labor, and social control, challenging the traditional boundaries between fine art and the gritty realities of everyday life.