Daguenet. Eugerne, Carolin. 39 ans, né à Granville (Manche). Ébéniste. Anarchiste. 26/2/94. 1894

This card photograph, created by Alphonse Bertillon in 1894, captures Eugène Daguenet, an anarchist cabinet maker from Granville. What might appear at first glance as a straightforward portrait is, in fact, a potent symbol of identity and control. Consider the gaze: Direct, unyielding, yet also vulnerable. It echoes countless portraits throughout history, from royal figures to bourgeois merchants. The unflinching stare, intended to capture and classify, inadvertently reveals a deeper human truth—a silent challenge to the viewer. This confrontational gaze connects Daguenet to a lineage of defiance. Even the rigid structure of the photograph itself—the measured pose, the stark lighting—becomes symbolic. It speaks to the emerging scientific methods of the late 19th century, which sought to categorize and understand human behavior through observation and measurement. Yet, within these constraints, Daguenet’s individual spirit persists, a testament to the enduring human capacity to resist definition. The image becomes a battleground where the impulse to control meets the irreducible essence of individuality.