Dupit. Paul. 20 ans, né le 13/3/74 à Paris XVIIe. Garçon boucher. Anarchiste. 2/7/94. 1894

Alphonse Bertillon created this mugshot, a photographic print, of Dupit Paul in 1894. The composition is starkly divided: the upper two-thirds are dominated by the subject's head and shoulders, while the lower third contains inscribed text. The sepia tones lend the photograph a sense of historical distance, almost abstraction. Bertillon’s photographic method was intended to strip away individual identity by reducing a person to a set of measurable and visual data. Yet, the image offers more than objective record. The subject’s slightly averted gaze and the soft gradations of light create a sense of vulnerability. The inscription below, almost like an integral part of the composition, reads "Dupit. Paul. 20 ans... Anarchiste." This annotation brings into play a tension between the individual and the state, between identity and categorization. The photograph, therefore, becomes a site where these meanings intersect and compete. It reminds us that the meaning of any artwork is never fixed, and always open to reinterpretation.