Willem Jan Otten
Specht and Son
In Willem Jan Otten’s new novel 'Specht and Son' the canvas tells the story rather than the young painter Felix Vincent who has accepted a bizarre commission. On the very first page the canvas, ‘10 1 . 2 oz. linen preprimed’, measuring 120 x 200 cm, wonders: ‘How on earth can a mere canvas covered with paint be tragic?’ The story that follows answers this question. The canvas witnesses Vincent, called ‘Creator’, being asked by the fabulously wealthy art collector Specht to paint his adopted son Singer. So far nothing special. But there is a catch: Singer is no longer alive. ‘Paint my son,’ says Specht to Creator. ‘Make him alive. Forget his death.’
