In her own words
Artist & ambassador · Weathered Soul, Women of the World
Marion van den Ende
Art runs in my blood — but it took me a lifetime to fully claim the canvas.
A foundation of DNA, tradition and freedom regained
As a child I already wandered through the studio of my uncle, the renowned abstract artist Jaap van den Ende. Among the smell of oil paint, the towering canvases and his systematic search for structure and contrast, my way of seeing the world was formed. I was fascinated by drawing, already looking for a way to capture the chaos of the inner world in tangible lines. Those early years laid an indestructible artistic foundation — a legacy in my DNA that I have never let go.
And yet it took fifty-six years before I found my ultimate freedom. For more than half a century I was trapped in a life, and a body, that did not match who I was inside. It was a time of deep, inner injustice. Only when I let the walls around me fall and was allowed to live as my true self did the creative floodgate in me finally break open. My transition was my rebirth. Painting became my medicine, my voice and my freedom regained.
The Tuscan apprenticeship
During a decisive walking holiday in the mountains of Tuscany, my path crossed that of master painter Luciano Vittori and his daughter Elena. A deep artistic kinship arose. I saw how they transformed classic automobiles and soulful animals with the texture of age-old frescoes. I resolved to become their apprentice and to master this unique Italian technique.
As an artist and ambassador I now carry the philosophy of Heritage Fresco to the rest of the world, enriched with my own, deeply personal vision.
My series: Weathered Soul & Women of the World
Within our collective I hold the series in which psychology, culture and emotion take the leading role. In my series ‘Weathered Soul’ (with works such as Gespletenheid and Innerlijke Rouw) I portray the human face as a crumbling wall of stone. The cracks, veins and craquelure in the fresco skin are, to me, not merely decorative; they are the tangible scars and the resilience of the soul. It is my own history, translated into a universally human resilience.
In ‘Women of the World’ I celebrate the strength, the serenity and the proud dignity of women in all their international facets. It is my personal ode to a femininity I myself had to fight so long to claim.
Museum perfection
My process of creation is a meditative reconstruction. Where the world long caused inner struggle, in the tens of hours of digital precision and curation I find a deep, layered calm. Because I believe in a solid foundation, I make no compromise on quality. Every work is transferred onto prestigious Hahnemühle Fine Art paper and anchored on aluminium Dibond — the absolute museum standard.
To guard purity and rarity, my psychological works appear in an extremely exclusive edition of only 4, and my international works in 24 — a direct, numerological nod to my own birth blueprint (24.04). Each piece is internationally certified through MyArtRegistry.com.
My own dogs
My own dogs, Rico and Durack — two American Bullies (pocket) — were painted by Elena herself. Not for sale; simply made out of love.
I do not paint to escape, but to land. This is who I am. This is my Heritage.