The collection of sculptures at the Museum of Fine Arts in Tournai is a valuable object of study. Yet most museums exhibit only a part of their collections, constrained by choices related to space, conservation, scientific coherence or museographic storytelling.
However, their fundamental mission of conservation rests on an opposite logic: that of considering each piece, whether it is exhibited or not, with the same care, in an egalitarian approach which aims to preserve the integrity and diversity of the heritage entrusted to the institution.
Having a space specifically dedicated to sculpture, the museum has chosen to present its entire collection of sculpted effigies, without making any distinction between them. This gesture makes sense at a time when the museum’s teams are carrying out an imperative task of collecting, documenting, and revaluing these works, which often remain in the shadows. Showing everything here becomes a way of making visible what elsewhere remains preserved but invisible.
These figures thus form, in the heart of the sculpture atrium, a disparate group of anonymous individuals, heroes or celebrities, intentionally mixed to merge into a kind of "non-exhibition" where the curators have chosen to suspend the value judgments made by art history.
Neither the color of stones or metals, nor their origin, nor the time period, nor the artists, have presided over this arrangement without a base or pedestal in a space designed to accommodate three-dimensional works.

The only museum designed by the great architect Victor Horta, the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Tournai will soon enter an important phase of renovation and extension.
The building, an interesting example of the transition between art nouveau and modernism inspired by "Art deco", is probably one of the first prototypes of a modern museum internationally.
With works by renowned artists such as Ensor, Fantin-Latour, Manet, Monet, Seurat, Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec and Van der Weyden, his collection is recognized as one of the most important in Belgium.
Pending the start of work in 2024, and starting from the rediscovery of artists, masterpieces, or even broader themes, Since 2020, the curators have initiated a cycle of exhibitions aimed at offering rotating displays and new perspectives on this major heritage.