The Artwork That Inspired My Debut Novel
How one work of art can give rise to another
If you’d like to know more about my novel, Berlin Vertigo, inspired by Lotte Lasterstein’s painting, visit my website.
I’ve loved this painting for more than 20 years. I first saw it on the front cover of a text book I was studying at college and I was immediately enthralled. I was studying philosophy at the time, the image presumably chosen to capture something of the pleasures and difficulties of being alive and full of pressing questions.
I managed to lay my hands on a print of the painting and tacked the image to my study wall. Later, I took the print home with me and pinned it up in my bedroom. Ever since then, I’ve taken this image with me wherever I’ve lived, keeping it always close-at-hand, like a sort of touchstone. I’ve probably looked at it every day for the past two decades.
As the years went by, I never stopped looking at the painting. I liked it for it’s calm pathos and it’s brooding sense of unease. Almost subconsciously, I began to imagine roles for each of the figures. I began to imagine the relationships that might exist between them, imbuing them with emotions and motivations. Over time, I came up with a story that linked them together, and a while after that — many redrafts later — this story turned into…
