Painting by Cécile Ganne, “To The Lighthouse”

Painting by Cécile Ganne, “To The Lighthouse”, oil on canvas 36 x 36 inches. (91.44 x 91.44 cm)

This painting “To The Lighthouse” is inspired by Virginia Woolf’s famous novel and captures a moment suspended in time. At the forefront of the composition, a woman draped in an elegant outfit, reminiscent of the roaring twenties, captures the spirit of an era defined by both liberation and restraint.
The scene unfolds at the foot of the Dover Cliffs, a majestic backdrop that echoes the novel’s exploration of the vastness of human experience. The cliffs rise with an almost ethereal quality, their contours softened by the rhythmic strokes of a palette knife, creating an atmosphere of dreamlike serenity. The sailboat in the
On the distant horizon line, a boat sails away symbolizing the passage of time and the relentless ebb and flow of existence. The soft palette delicately blends hues of azure, lavender and ochres, and invites viewers to embark on their own introspective journey across the canvas of emotions and memories.

About the artist

A French contemporary landscape artist based in Boston, Massachusetts, Cécile Ganne grew up painting with my maternal grandmother in the Dordogne Valley of Southern France. Her ephemeral landscapes straddle the line of genre, incorporating and blending various influences, including poetic realism, expressionism, and abstraction. They usher the viewer into the intensity and imminence of the present moment: the “eternal present”, a dimension that encompasses both the moment of artistic creation while honoring the fleetingness of nature and life. She often paints during the dreamlike, “in-between” moments of the day: moments of waiting. Heavily inspired by Southern France and cubism, these vistas are enigmas to be solved and games to delight the mind: an invitation to join her in this quest for serenity that can exist alongside sensuous intensity.

Her work resides in private collections in the United States, France, and the United Kingdom. An active member of the SoWa Artist Guild, she holds a Ph.D in French literature and several MAs in French and English literatures and culture with a minor in Art History from Boston University, La Sorbonne-Paris IV, and Université Toulouse le Mirail. Currently, she is a Lecturer at Wellesley College.