Oeil Sociologique: A Case Study on Manet’s Chemin De Fer

Abstract

This paper uses Edouard Manet’s work Chemin de fer, also known as Gare Saint Lazare, to discuss the concept of oeil sociologique (sociological eye). Chemin de fer was finished in 1872, when Manet was 40 years old, just two years after his time in the Franco-Prussian War. Although selected for and displayed in the Salon of 1873, Chemin de fer was very different, in subject, style and even size, from other paintings displayed in the Salon, such as that of Gérôme’s Éminence grise.