[11][19][21] Van den Eynde was born in Antwerp, Spanish Netherlands, into a wealthy family of merchants, artists and art dealers possibly tied to the local nobility.

[11] The Van den Eynde were related to several notable Netherlandish artists, including Brueghel, Jode, and Lucas and Cornelis de Wael.

Among them are Johann Joachim Winckelmann (generally a harsh critic of Baroque sculpture[30]) and Peter Paul Rubens, who requested a copy of them and commented "I do not know how [...] can I praise their beauty properly.

[26][25][31] Two days before his death, Ferdinand made his will, bequeathing his art collection to his brother Jan.[11][12] In Naples, Jan established himself as a dealer in grain, silk, diamonds, and lace at first.

[19][11] In 1636, Van den Eynde entered a partnership with Gaspar Roomer, whose company dealt in luxury goods, lace, silk, grain, diamonds and ship insurance.

[23][5][7][8][26] Throughout the Baroque period, the Van den Eynde's was the largest collection of paintings in Naples and the Napoletano.

He left an yearly 10 000 ducats' revenue off some of his landed estate to his young grandson, Don Giovanni Mastrillo-van den Eynde, 3rd Marquess of Gallo (later 5th Duke of Marigliano), the son of his daughter Catherine van den Eynde,[15] provided that he add Van den Eynde to his surname (item lascio jure legati a D. Giovanni Mastrillo Marchese del Gallo mio carissimo nipote docati 10 mila di capitale con sue annue entrate, cioè docati 5000 sopra la gabella del carlino a staro d'oglio, che da me si possiede, e gli altri docati 5000 sopra la grana 25 ad oncia con li loro frutti, con condizione, che appresso il suo Cognome si debba mettere il mio di Vandeneynden[17]) and the right to 10 000 ducats' worth of income is never sold, lent out, or pledged.

He restored the Van den Eynde's Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano, widened its art collection, and built the Villa Carafa of Belvedere in Vomero.

Ferdinand had two daughters, Elisabeth and Jane, who married the heirs of two of the most powerful Italian families, the Colonna and the Carafa.