Kieffer. Nicolas. 35 ans, né le 8/4/59 à Haltuiller (Meurthe). Menuisier. Anarchiste. 2/7/94. 1894

This mugshot of Nicolas Kieffer, a 35-year-old anarchist carpenter, was produced in France around 1894 by Alphonse Bertillon. Bertillon was a French police officer and biometrics researcher who pioneered the use of photography for criminal identification, a system he termed 'Bertillonage.' The photograph, with its stark bureaucratic precision, speaks volumes about the social and political climate of the time. In the late 19th century, anarchism was viewed as a significant threat to state power, and individuals like Kieffer were often subject to intense scrutiny. The very act of cataloging and archiving Kieffer's image reflects an institutional effort to monitor and control dissident elements within society. To understand this image fully, we need to delve into the history of criminology, the rise of photography as a tool of surveillance, and the social history of anarchism in France. By looking at police archives, newspapers, and political pamphlets, we can reconstruct the world that shaped both Kieffer and the system that sought to contain him. Art always exists within, and comments on, a social and institutional context.