The Tournai Museum of Fine Arts is the only monument designed by Victor Horta intended from the outset to fulfill this function. It is also one of the rare public commissions testifying to the architect's transition from Art Nouveau to Art Deco.
The museum project was born from the collaboration between patron Henri Van Cutsem, eager to ensure the longevity of his art collection, sculptor Guillaume Charlier, and Victor Horta. The idea was first raised in 1903, but it would not come to fruition until 1928. Its genesis was complex, with successive preliminary projects drawn by the architect and revised to create an increasingly ambitious ensemble, threatening the budget. Work did not begin until 1913, but was suspended for ten years during the First World War. In 1923, Victor Horta took over the project, simplifying his previous project in an effort to save money.
The museum, as inaugurated in 1928, consists of a relatively simple exterior, with only a few decorative elements standing out around the entrance porch. This porch is topped by a monumental statue group by Guillaume Charlier. Beyond a vast reception area, one reaches spacious, radiating rooms topped with large glass roofs. These provide original overhead lighting and contrast with the majority of blank walls, which, for budgetary reasons, bear limited decoration.