For almost two years now Charleroi has been blessed with three museums all with a common visual identity. The result has been that we are now able to present the different collections as the rich heritage of a common past, a heritage that is open to creativity and contemporary expression.
The idea of a museum for Fine Arts, was launched by Jules Destrée (1863-1936) and based on works by Navez.

In1889, the city was donated its first work of art, a bust of Francois- Joseph Navez by Jean Hérain (Louvain, 1853 - Brussels, 1924) and thus began the process of collecting and preserving works of art.

Sixty works were acquired between 1889 and 1936, when the museum was inaugurated within the beautiful Art Déco building of the town hall. Exceptional artists as Pierre Paulus, François-Joseph Navez, Alexandre-Louis Martin, Joseph François, Fernand Verhaegen, etc. mark the departure point of a collection that was to enjoy a never-ending expansion.

The first curator, Fernand André (Dampremy, 1904-1973) developed a policy of acquisition. Very shortly after the inauguration of the museum, the Belgian state subsidised on the one hand part of the purchase and on the other put some works in storage, thus increasing the strength of the collection. As they were only viewable on request, these works were to remain hidden from view until the official opening of the museum to the public on 18 September 1980.

The museum is home to works from the middle of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th century and thus cover the most important artistic movements in Belgium and which also constitute the first body of our collections.

The museum has also opened its doors over the last twenty years to contemporary works and would like to see itself playing an important role in art of the 21st century. We have brought our museum policy up-to-date after ten years, and our policy today responds to an objective of promoting an open-minded, dynamism and social implication.