Sebastiaen van den Eynde

Marble bust of Cornelis II Landschot, sculpted by Sebatiaen van den Eynde, circa 1656, Museum Maagdenhuis, Antwerp

Sebastiaen van den Eynden (Antwerp, baptized 20 June 1624^[1] - Antwerp, before 1693)^[1] was a Flemish sculptor. He was a member of the Van den Eynde family of artists. Sebastiaen was either the son of Hubert van den Eynde and Norbert van den Eynde's half-brother, or, most likely, the son of Hubert's brother Cornelis, and thus Norbert's cousin and a brother to the architect-entrepreneur Jan II van den Eynde.^[2][3] Sebastiaen van den Eynden became master of the Guild of Saint Luke either in 1661 or 1662.^[4][5]

Life[]

Sebastiaen van den Eynde was born in Antwerp, Spanish Netherlands. He was baptized on 20 June 1624.^[1][5] Van den Eynde was born into a renowned family of artists, one of the top families of sculptors in Antwerp.^[2] The Van den Eynde were part of the informal Quellinus-Verbrugghen-Willemsens-Scheemaeckers-Van den Eynde association, which turned the sculpture market of Antwerp into one of monopoly.^[2] The extensive collaboration between the workshops of the aforementioned families in the late 17th century may be the most important factor to account for the intricate "unity of style and approaches that have made disentangling of hands particularly difficult for art historians."^[2]

Intricate koorafsluiting by Sebastiaen van den Eynde, circa 1665, St. James' Church, Antwerp

Detail of sculpture above a second koorafsluiting in the apse of St. James' Church, Antwerp, Sebastiaen van den Eynde, circa 1665

Sebastiaen might have been the son of Hubert van den Eynde and Hubert's first wife Elizabeth Schorkens, who died just a few weeks after Sebastiaen's birth in 1624.^[5][6] However, he was most likely the son of Hubert's brother Cornelis, an architect-entrepreneur.^[2][3] In fact, Sebastiaen is not mentioned in any record as being the son of a master of the Guild.^[5]

As a young man, Sebastiaen took a trip to Italy,^[7] spending some time in Rome.^[2] He returned to Antwerp as late as 1656. According to the Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon, this may account for his getting his mastership at the Guild as late as at 37 years of age.^[5]

In 1656, Van den Eynde produced a bust of Cornelis Landschot, an Antwerpian businessman and philanthropist. The sculpture, today housed at the Maagdenhuis Museum, used to stand above the entrance to the chapel of Falconrui.^[8][9]

Van den Eynde produced several sculptured pieces of furniture for Antwerp's churches. These include an altar rail in black basanite with balusters and caryatids in white marble produced by Van den Eynde in 1653 for St. James' Church, after a model by Hubert van den Eynde.^[4] Van den Eynde produced the Carpenter's altar for the latter church, which has been dated to shortly after when he became a master craftsman in 1661/1662.^[4]

In St. James' Church there are two intricate koorafsluiting sculpted by Van den Eynde, both with pieces of marble sculpture on top of them. They were probably produced around 1665.^[10]

References[]