Musée des Beaux-Arts de Charleroi

About the museum

The museum's history is first that of a public collection intended by Jules Destrée for the City of Charleroi. It began in 1889 with the Navez committee, which gave a bust of the painter François-Joseph Navez. After the art salons of 1911, the City installed its museum on the second floor of the new town hall, inaugurated in October 1936; fifty works were then visible by appointment. In the 1980s it opened to the public on a permanent basis and also offered temporary exhibitions, while the collections grew through purchases, gifts and deposits, including works from the former municipalities of Greater Charleroi.

In 2007 the rooms no longer met safety standards, and the works were shown at the Palais des Beaux-Arts until 2019. The museum reopened on 17 December 2022 in the former Defeld stables, a 1887 building redeveloped over 2,080 m² on three levels: the permanent collections occupy the first floor, the temporary exhibitions the ground floor. The site includes a sixty-metre signal tower designed by Jean Nouvel.

The museum holds nearly 5,000 works: paintings, sculptures, watercolours, prints, photographs, installations, videos and ceramics. The thematic route runs from neoclassicism and orientalism to surrealism, abstraction and contemporary art, with artists such as Navez, Constantin Meunier, Anna Boch, Ensor, Rops, Magritte and Delvaux. A place is given to women artists, who were long little visible.

Highlights

• Permanent collections with free admission, about 5,000 works held
• Works by Magritte, Delvaux, Ensor, Navez, Constantin Meunier and Anna Boch
• Thematic route from neoclassicism to contemporary art
• Former Defeld stables of 1887, renovated and reopened in 2022
• Sixty-metre signal tower by Jean Nouvel on the site

Permanent exhibition

• Collections permanentes du Musée des Beaux-Arts – Thematic route on the first floor, from the origins of the collection through neoclassicism, landscape, social realism and surrealism to abstraction and contemporary art.

Founded

1936

Operated by

Ville de Charleroi

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Free admission: Free admission every first Sunday of the month, including for temporary exhibitions.

The permanent collections are free for everyone. For temporary exhibitions, admission is free for children under 12 and for members of Attractions et Tourisme, MSW, ICOM, the Association des Agents communaux and the FWGT, as well as holders of Article 27, the SW card, FED+ and the Carte Prof.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The mediation service offers visits for visually impaired and hard-of-hearing visitors and for people with Alzheimer's, as well as tactile boxes.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide

Creative workshops for children, adults or families, storytelling afternoons and philosophy meetings; play bags, activity booklets and tactile boxes available.

Getting there & parking

By car: Ring R9 of Charleroi, exit 19 “Porte de la Neuville”, then follow the signs to “Hôtel de police”.

Amenities & dining

A rest space, the Agora, invites visitors to stop, reflect or sit down in the museum.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit