Among the artists of the second half of the 19th Century, three painters from the south of France, Jean-Paul Laurens (The agitator of Languedoc and Saint John Chrysostom and the empress Eudoxia), Henri Martin (Portrait of Madame Sans) and Benjamin-Constant are particularly well represented. Furthermore, all three contributed to the decorations in the Capitole in Toulouse. They illustrate the different facets of the fin-de-siècle academic tradition, which is also embodied in a work by Debat-Ponsan and Rixens (The death of Cleopatra). Our modern art collection from the end of the century is represented by non other than Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, Blanche Hoschédé-Monet and Édouard Vuillard (Sous les arbres du pavillon rouge). Thanks to the generosity of the countess of Toulouse-Lautrec and that of the painter Gauzi, the museum has acquired a very beautiful series of works by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (La Conquête de passage). Unfortunately these cannot be exhibited permanently due to their fragility. These canvases contrast with the academic works of the same period, highlighting the artistic antagonisms at the end of the 19th Century.