Marianne van den Dungen
Marianne van den Dungen transitioned from colored pencil artistry to illustrating over 25 philosophical works. Inspired by her collaboration with Marcel Messing. In her book, Parzival and the Grail, she combines her poetic visual style with storytelling.
Biography
When I was around 28 years old and my children started school, I began teaching courses at spiritual centers across Belgium and the Netherlands. During that time, I encountered the works of Carl Gustav Jung. He wrote about mandalas, among other subjects—a topic that was still relatively unknown back then. I immersed myself in his work and began teaching mandala drawing.
Eventually, I grew tired of the constant travel and transitioned to hosting workshops in my own home. I continued this until about ten years ago. My mandalas were created with colored pencils, which was the primary technique I taught.
After developing around 100 different themes, I felt my work in that area was complete. Around that time, I began receiving commissions to illustrate books. To date, I have illustrated about 25 publications, including poetry collections and philosophical works. I have collaborated extensively with the philosopher and anthropologist Marcel Messing.
Marcel writes frequently about Buddhism, the parables of Jesus, and similar subjects, and I have the privilege of illustrating these editions. His philosophy resonated deeply with me, and I have learned a great deal from him about following an inner path in life. A profound friendship has grown from our collaboration.
All of this meant that for 35 years—since finishing my formal training—I never touched a paintbrush and focused solely on drawing. Now, however, I am painting again using egg tempera. It is a beautiful, pure technique that offers endless possibilities.
In her first book, Parzival and the Grail, Marianne van den Dungen demonstrates that writing is also among her many talents. As Marcel Messing puts it: "In this book, a troubadour of the heart is speaking. A soul who has learned to see through the 'sickness of ignorance' (Buddha) and discovered inner wisdom. Her drawing pencils became subtle fingers of the soul, poetically depicting the quest—her quest—for the Grail.
