Ende (artist)

Ende (or En) is the first Spanish female manuscript illuminator to have her work documented through inscription: ENDE PINTRIX ET D(E)I AIUTRIX in the colophon of the Gerona Beatus.[1] She was probably a nun.[1] There are a number of hands discernible in the manuscripts. The chief scribe was a priest called Senior. Historians have also attributed elements of the manuscripts to Emetrius, whose style is attributable in comparison to an earlier signed work.[1] However, based on painting style attributes, some theorists conclude that nearly all of the manuscript illustrations were completed by Ende.[2]

The Last Judgment, painted by Ende, from the Gerona Beatus

Ende worked on a 10th-century group of manuscripts, of which there are 26 known copies with illustrations, however only Beatus of Girona contains the work of a woman.[3] These manuscripts contain the Commentary on the Apocalypse compiled by the Spanish monk Beatus of Liébana in 786.[1] The manuscripts were created in the monastery of Tabara in the mountains of[3] Leon in northwest Spain.[1]

The illuminations illustrate the Apocalyptic Vision of St. John the Divine in the Book of Revelation in the Mozarabic style.[4] This style developed in Spain after the Muslim invasions, blending elements of Islamic art and decorative traditions, particularly the emphasis on geometry, rich colors, ornamented grounds, and stylized figures.[4]