Jenny Montigny

Jenny Montigny (1875-1937) painted with the power of light. An exponent of the luminist style of painting, her works are also surprising and idiosyncratic. Today, you can admire them for yourself in Antwerp, Ghent, Brussels and in the artists’ village of Deurle.

A self-willed genius from Ghent

Jenny Montigny was born in Ghent to a middle-class family. Her father was a lawyer and professor and her mother was descended from a textile family. Jenny, however, decided to pursue a different path. A visit to a museum propelled her life in a different direction. Standing in front of Emile Claus’ painting The Skaters, she decided to dedicate her life to art.

Gallery view featuring, among others, Mother and Child by Jenny Montigny, 1920–1926. Collection of Museum Dhont-Dhaenens.

Rik Vannevel

An artistic life in Deurle

In the summer of 1895, she began paving the way. She took painting classes in Emile Claus’ outdoor classes at Villa Zonneschijn in the village of Astene. At the beginning of the 20th century, she moved to the artists’ village of Deurle, where she had a house with a studio built. Montigny developed into a painter, pastellist, artist and etcher of the highest order. She also joined Vie et Lumière, an association of painters, known as luminists, in whose works light plays a key role.

In that context, Montigny developed a style all of her own. Her paintings depict rural life along the river Lys, intimate interiors, motherhood and childhood. During World War I, she lived in London, where she explored other subjects. Her works illustrated society life in lush parks and portrayed wounded Belgian soldiers. After the war, she returned to Deurle. In 1922 came the crowning achievement of her career: a first retrospective exhibition in her native Ghent.

Jenny Montigny [1875-1937], De speelplaats, Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België, Brussel, foto Guy Cussac, Brussel_© KMSKB foto Guy Cussac Brussel

Jenny Montigny in Flanders

You can discover Jenny Montigny’s rich body of work throughout Flanders.

At the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent, you can see three of her paintings: The Cattle Stable (part of the permanent collection), The Begonias (on loan to Kunstuur in Mechelen until June 2026) and My Window (this work will be on display in the exhibition that the museum is dedicating to Jenny Montigny from October 2026 onwards).
Also at the MSK, you can also admire The Skaters, the painting by Emile Claus that inspired Jenny Montigny to pursue a career as an artist. The MSK repository also preserves a handful of Montigny’s etchings and drawings.

Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens in the artists’ village of Deurle owns two of her works: The School and Mother and Child. These also occasionally appear in temporary exhibitions. You can visit the grave of Jenny Montigny in the churchyard of Saint Aldegondis’ Church on Dorpsstraat. On Philippe de Dentergemlaan, you can see Saint Joseph’s School, where Jenny Montigny found inspiration for her school scenes.

Then again, the Museum of Deinze and the Leie Region (mudel) has a large collection of etchings by Jenny Montigny, as well as a handful of paintings such as Girl’s School at Deurle, Playground and Schoolyard. They can occasionally be admired at temporary exhibitions.

The Royal Museums of Fine Arts in Brussels have two works by Jenny Montigny. The Playground and Leaving School in Winter are occasionally seen in temporary exhibitions.

At the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA), you can admire her oil painting Return to the Stable.

You’re never far away ...

Flemish masterpieces enjoy worldwide fame. For that reason, certain masterpieces are sometimes sent out of the country to be included in exhibitions in well-known museums abroad. Or they may be on tour throughout Flanders. But even then, there is always a wealth of masterpieces to discover in Flanders: in our museums and cities and at our heritage sites. This was the place where the Flemish Masters lived and worked and where they found the inspiration for their masterpieces.