Jenny Montigny

COR00462 De Begonia's Jenny Montigny MSK Gent_© Martin Corlazzoli
COR00462 De Begonia's Jenny Montigny MSK Gent_© Martin Corlazzoli
Jenny Montigny (1875-1937) schildert met de kracht van het licht. Binnen het luminisme is haar oeuvre verrassend en eigenzinnig. Dat bewonder je vandaag in Antwerpen, Gent, Brussel en kunstenaarsdorp Deurle.

Eigenzinnig genie uit Gent

Jenny Montigny wordt geboren in de Gentse burgerij. Haar vader is advocaat en hoogleraar, haar moeder stamt uit een textielfamilie. Jenny besluit een andere weg in te slaan. Eén museumbezoek duwt haar leven in een andere richting. Wanneer ze oog in oog staat met het schilderij De ijsvogels van Emile Claus, besluit ze haar leven in het teken van de kunst te stellen. 

Zaalzicht  met o.a. Jenny Montigny, Moeder en kind, 1920-1926. Collectie Museum Dhont-Dhaenens. Foto Rik Vannevel
Zaalzicht met o. a. Jenny Montigny, Moeder en kind, 1920-1926. Collectie Museum Dhont-Dhaenens.

Een artistiek leven in Deurle

In de zomer van 1895 begint ze aan de weg te timmeren. Ze volgt schilderlessen in de openluchtklassen van Emile Claus, in Villa Zonneschijn in het plaatsje Astene. Aan het begin van de 20ste eeuw verhuist ze naar het kunstenaarsdorp in Deurle, waar ze een woning met atelier laat bouwen. Zo groeit Montigny uit tot schilder, pastellist, tekenaar en etser van topniveau. Ook sluit ze zich aan bij Vie et Lumière, een vereniging voor kunstschilders die het licht centraal stellen: de luministen.  

In dat kader ontwikkelt Montigny een geheel eigen stijl. Ze schildert het landelijke leven langs de Leie, intieme interieurs, moederschap en kindertijd. Tijdens de Eerste Wereldoorlog verblijft ze in Londen. Daar verkent ze andere onderwerpen. Ze toont het societyleven in de weelderige parken en portretteert gewonde Belgische soldaten. Na de oorlog keert ze terug naar Deurle. In 1922 volgt de kroon op haar carrière: een eerste overzichtstentoonstelling in haar geboortestad Gent. 

Jenny Montigny [1875-1937], De speelplaats, Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België, Brussel, foto Guy Cussac, Brussel_© KMSKB foto Guy Cussac Brussel
Kinderen spelen onder door de zon gefilterde bomen, terwijl gouden bladeren om hen heen neerdwarrelen en een levendige, nostalgische scène creëren. Op de achtergrond zijn een poort en een stenen muur zichtbaar.

Jenny Montigny in Vlaanderen

Je ontdekt het rijke oeuvre van Jenny Montigny in heel Vlaanderen.  

  • Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens in het kunstenaarsdorp Deurle bezit twee van haar werken: De school en Moeder en kind. Die duiken af en toe op in tijdelijke tentoonstellingen. Op het kerkhof Sint-Aldegondis in de Dorpsstraat bezoek je het graf van Jenny Montigny. In de Philippe de Dentergemlaan zie je de Sint-Jozefsschool, waar ze inspiratie vond voor haar schooltaferelen. 

Nooit ver weg ...

Vlaamse meesterwerken genieten wereldwijde faam. Sommige topwerken reizen soms tijdelijk de grenzen over voor tentoonstellingen in gerenommeerde buitenlandse musea. Of ze reizen doorheen Vlaanderen. Hoe dan ook, er valt altijd een schat aan meesterwerken te ontdekken: in onze musea, steden en erfgoedlocaties. Hier woonden en werkten de Vlaamse Meesters, hier vonden ze de inspiratie voor hun meesterwerken. 

Volg ons op @The Flemish Masters

This painting changed someone’s life forever.

You are looking at The Skaters by Emile Claus.

At the age of sixteen, Jenny Montigny reportedly stood in front of this painting at the Museum of Fine Arts Ghent. The encounter left such a lasting impression that it set her on the path to becoming an artist.

Now, more than a century after her major retrospective in Ghent in 1922, Montigny returns to mskgent.

From 10 October 2026, a major retrospective will bring together her intimate and luminous paintings...
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