The idea of creating the Museum of Fine Arts in Charleroi belonged to Jules Destree. That outstanding politician, journalist, and cultural expert who made a significant contribution to the development of the province of Hainaut supposed that building the museum would be good for that industrial region. He also started to collect paintings, furniture and tableware of the 16-19th centuries. However, 70 years had passed before the dream of Jules Destree was fulfilled. Initially, a part of the collection, that was dedicated to the Walloon art and various art movements of the 19th and 20th centuries was placed on the second floor of the city hall. A separate building for the Museum of Fine Arts was built in the city center only in 1980. By that time, the museum fund consisted of more than 3 thousand items.

Visitors point out that the collection is extremely eclectic. The exposition has works made in the styles of neoclassicism, expressionism, post-impressionism, surrealism, Orientalism, and even Socialist realism. Many canvases depict the working days of miners, steelmaking enterprises, and glass production factories. Jules Destree dreamed of depicting the working class on canvases as Charleroi became one of the leading industrial centers of Belgium at the beginning of the century. Apart from the paintings, there are also comics and cartoons (Charleroi is considered the second capital of comics after Brussels), sculptures (of Constantin Meunier), household items, and fabrics. In the museum, there are also several works of a famous Belgian surrealist artist, Rene Magritte.

The Museum of Fine Arts is not only a place where art collections are kept and exposed. It is also a full-fledged cultural center of the city where lectures and master-classes are organized. The museum also has a city theater. The limited exhibition space does not make it possible to show the entire collection, because temporary thematic exhibitions are often held there. A part of the exhibition is still settled in the city hall and unfortunately, is currently unavailable for guests.

A project of reconstruction of the former stables (where the famous Belgian horses were kept and bred) was developed to unite all the funds. The stables are to be near the Police Tower, but the moving date is still not clear.