NYMPHEUS LUMINANSIS
The Water Lilies of Light, by Laurence Saunois
NYMPHEUS LUMINANSIS is a museum exhibition comprised of a series of ten square and double-square paintings based on a theme dear to French Impressionist painter, Claude Monet: The water lilies of Giverny. By combining pictorial rigor, impressionist sensitivity, and imagination, Nympheus Luminansis goes beyond a simple representation of Monet’s garden. Each canvas is a contemporary reinterpretation, a living tribute that explores the fragile beauty of nature, the ephemeral nature of light, and art’s ability to create an intimate connection with the viewer. The exhibition thus offers a poetic, sensory, and emotional journey, where the viewer becomes a participant in a pictorial narrative, oscillating between memory, imagination, and wonder.
It was in Giverny, while strolling around the water lily garden designed by Claude Monet, that the idea for Nympheus Luminansis, was born. As Laurence Saunois walked along the paths, she became deeply moved by the intensity and subtlety of the light on the water lilies, willow trees, and famous Japanese bridge. And this transformed itself into mission of sorts, a mission to capture not only shapes and colors of the visual experience, but also the very vibration of the light and the emotion it evoked.
The project developed over a period of eight years, requiring more than 10,000 hours of work, with each canvas becoming the result of meticulous research, precise composition, and constant experimentation with light on color. Laurence Saunois consequently developed what she calls “real impressionism”: where figurative precision coalesces to become an impressionistic sensation wherein reflections are transformed into a pictorial language, offering the viewer a visual, sensory, and emotional experience. The artist used oils rich in pigment, handcrafted by a master French colorist, to intensify the luminosity and depth of each canvas. “I want viewers who look at my work to feel as if they have been transported to Claude Monet’s garden, whether they have visited it before or are thousands of miles away, and to feel a little of what I felt,” says Laurence Saunois. But she never sought to literally reproduce Monet’s famous paintings. Instead, her goal was to to create a dialogue with his legacy, imbuing it with her own sensibility and contemporary perception of nature.
The title, Nympheus Luminansis is an artistic neologism created by Laurence Saunois:
Nympheus: from the Latin nymphaea, the water lily, the flower emblematic of Monet’s ponds.
Luminansis: formed from the word luminance, a scientific concept that refers to the visual perception of light emitted or reflected by a surface, and the suffix -sis, commonly used in scientific vocabulary to designate an action, process, or state, giving the term a technical and timeless dimension.
The combination of these two terms defines an original neologism by Laurence Saunois, who has created a pictorial cycle devoted to light as a true artistic medium.
Born in 1966 in Paris, Laurence Saunois began drawing at a very young age. Her her talent was recognized early on: at 17 her portfolio was accepted by the Beaux-Arts in Paris. But fate intervened. She was deemed too young for admission. Rejected – and dejected – she gave up drawing for ten long years. Finally, one Christmas Day, a simple gift changed everything: a box of oil paints, a canvas, brushes. It was a revelation. At the age of 28, she re-discovered color, texture, and the pleasure of painting. This moment marked the rebirth of her artistic vocation. In 1997, she left everything behind: the city of Paris, the security of a responsible job, and more, and headed for Figeac, in the Lot region. A region of light, silence, stone, and history. There, she restored her grandfather’s house and created a 6,000 square-meter garden with her own hands, a haven of peace and creativity. There, surrounded by nature, she painted, explored, and invented. In 2007, she made a radical decision: to turn her passion into her full-time profession. Connected to the world through the Internet, she discovered the Society of Animal Artists, a prestigious American art organization with roots in New York City. She applied for membership and was accepted. Three years later, in 2010, she attained broader recognition when the BBC named her International Artist of the Year in its annual competition dedicated to animal art. Since then, Laurence Saunois has exhibited in Europe and the United States, participating in various exhibitions and receiving prestigious awards that recognize both her technical mastery and the emotional power of her works. And distinctions keep coming. Among them is a prestigious Living Master award from the Art Renewal Center, the world’s largest figurative art organization.
The French premiere of NYMPHEUS LUMINANSIS – The Water Lilies of Light occurs at The Palais Balène in Figeac, France. Premiering the exhibition in The United States is The Slater Memorial Gallery at The Norwich Free Academy in Connecticut. The exhibition then tours, as follows, to five additional venues throughout the nation:
FRENCH PREMIERE
November 22 – 30, 2025
Palais Balène
Figeac, France
U.S. PREMIERE
January 15 – April 15, 2026
Slater Memorial Gallery
Norwich Free Academy
Norwich, Connecticut
TOUR
May 15 – August 15, 2026
The Evelyn Burrow Museum
Wallace State Community College
Hanceville, Alabama
September 12, 2026 – January 3, 2027
Historic City Hall Arts & Cultural Center
Lake Charles, Louisiana
January 23, 2027 – April 24, 2027
Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts
Houston, Texas
May 13 – October 2, 2027
San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts
1 Love Street
San Angelo, Texas
Home of The Civic League Park
International Water Lily Collection
open annually from April to October
October 22 – December 19, 2027
Dane G. Hansen Museum
110 West Main St
Logan, Kansas
Additional Venues May Be Added.
For Tour Updates, Visit: laurencesaunois.net/nympheus-luminansis-exhibitions.html
The Tour Director for the exhibition is David J. Wagner, who earned his Ph.D. in American Studies and served as a museum director for 20 years. He also serves as President of David J. Wagner, L.L.C., a Wisconsin-based company that produces and manages traveling museum exhibitions.
For further information, contact:
David J. Wagner, Ph.D.
Curator/Tour Director
NYMPHEUS LUMINANSIS
David J. Wagner, L.L.C., Tour Office
Office Phone: (414) 221-6878
Email: davidjwagnerllc@yahoo.com
“My intention was to capture the vibration of light on the colors of nature and offer the viewer an immersive experience, as if they were opening a window onto the Giverny pond for each painting.” Laurence Saunois