Jenny Montigny is considered one of the most remarkable artists of her generation. For forty years, she captured daily life in various art forms, including paintings, drawings, pastels, and etchings. Her impressionistic work, often emphasizing light and color, depicts scenes of children on their way to school, mothers with their children, and villagers at work.
For this exhibition, Marjan Sterckx, professor at the Art, Music, and Theatre Studies department of UGent, and Johan De Smet, curator at the MSK and UGent alumnus, have gathered works from various museum collections and numerous private collections. They aim to highlight the richness and originality of Montigny's oeuvre, an artist who forged her own path, from her youth in Ghent and training with Emile Claus in the Leiestreek, to her time in London during World War I and her return to Deurle.
“"Montigny deserves a much more prominent place in art history. It was special to bring so many of her works together for the first time and to showcase her versatile talent. For me, this exhibition and the accompanying catalog are a great example of how our scientific research can reach a broad audience. Furthermore, I dedicated my research seminar to Montigny, so students were also involved in the preparations. I highly recommend everyone to visit the MSK during the autumn holidays and be surprised by the work of Jenny Montigny!"
The exhibition ‘Jenny Montigny. The Sun and Life’ runs until January 10, 2027, at the Museum of Fine Arts (MSK) in Ghent.
