Janus la Cour (1837–1909), born on the west coast of Denmark, is worth rediscovering – especially for his modernity. Known as a great recluse, he had a dream of the perfect image during his first trip to Italy in 1867: an empty beach, wild and desolate. In the Swiss mountains, in warm Italy, but especially during his hikes on the beaches near his home in Århus, he sought out barren, lonely places and glorified them in his almost meditative art. To this day, these often serialised, deserted monuments of silence continue to fascinate. Not least, he captures an endangered natural world that is threatening to disappear in the face of Europe's advancing industrialisation, thereby emphasising his rejection of Impressionist Paris, which he found abhorrent, like all big cities. He encourages us to pause and reflect.

The exhibition – created in cooperation between the MKdW and the Nivaagaards Malerisamling in Nivå, Denmark – is based on masterpieces from Christoph Müller's Janus-la-Cour collection in Berlin and is supplemented by loans from private collections and important Danish museums. It is expanded to include contemporary perspectives: the painters Per Kirkeby and Sven Drühl, who were or are La Cour collectors themselves, deal directly or indirectly with La Cour's art in their works.