GHENT.- With the exhibition ‘Among Friends’, the Museum of Fine Art Ghent looks back on its 225-year history and 125 years of the Friends of the Museum, reflecting on all of the people who have enriched the museum through donations, gifts and legacies. This is also an opportunity to reflect on close ties with contemporary private collectors and, unusually, to admire dozens of works from private collections.

Over the course of its existence the MSK has established close relationships with dozens of collectors who have supported its activities and development. To a substantial degree, its collection took shape from 1900 on thanks to the continuous private generosity of patrons from Ghent. The exhibition ‘Among Friends’ takes a hopscotch approach, with the various types of collectors and their methods determining the rules and setting the course. The result is a diverse and outstanding assembly of art from the mid-14th century to around 1960, which sparks a dialogue between familiar and often hidden collections and reveals both to their most subtle advantage.

The exhibition not only focuses on the works themselves, but also shines a light on collectors. Its timeline is determined by the history of the museum and its collections. In this way, we see how tastes developed in and around the museum from the late 18th century to the present day. Collectors have played a major role in these developments. Since the MSK was founded, over 450 donors and legacies have contributed more than 7,300 objects, just over 40% of its collections. Most of these were given during the past 125 years, at the same time that the very active Friends of the Museum were encouraging countless collectors to donate.

The exhibition’s themes show how the museum’s collections have taken shape. For instance, how appreciation for mediaeval sculpture developed, who played a crucial role in collecting drawings by Old Masters, and when prints by modern artists began to grow in popularity. But also how the museum’s collection relates to artistic and socio-cultural developments in and outside of Ghent, the role of the Ghent academy throughout the 19th century, how the Friends realised their encyclopaedic dream, and how mainly (but not exclusively) Belgian donators and legacies have enriched the museum’s collection. In short: every possible way that private collectors have played or will play a role in the museum’s history in the past, present and future.

‘Among Friends’ offers an exceptional opportunity to see works by Pierre Alechinsky, Hieronymus Bosch, Maerten de Vos, James Ensor, Henri Evenepoel, Fernand Khnopff, Serge Poliakoff, Auguste Rodin, Medardo Rosso, Simon Vouet, Frits Van den Berghe, Théo Van Rysselberghe and many others.

Museum of Fine Art Ghent
Among Friends
November 25th, 2023 – April 28th, 2024