[5][4] Copies of the Van den Eynde's putti, whether in plaster or wax, were owned by many artists in Rome and Northern Europe.

[4] Many other artists, such as Peter Paul Rubens and Johann Joachim Winckelmann (generally a harsh critic of Baroque sculpture[4]) lauded Van den Eynde's putti.

[3] In his biography of the Fiammingo, Joachim von Sandrart excused himself from describing the Van den Eynde's tomb, as it was realized after his departure from Rome.

[1] De Visschere, an art enthusiast, served in the administration of Santa Maria dell’Anima, and was indeed involved in overseeing Duquesnoy's commission for the tomb of Van den Eynde.

[3][1] Ferdinand was brother to Jan van den Eynde, a Flemish merchant established in Naples, one of the richest men in the city, and its most prominent art collector.

Grasped in his left hand, the instrument is almost entirely covered by the cloth, though the outline of its flared end may be discerned beneath the drape when one looks for it.

The use of an attribute so well hidden is surprising, but serves to underscore Duquesnoy's conception of the tomb as a site of meditation, an epigrammatic construction in which a few forms sustain a range of meanings.

Raphael is the first to give them grace and charm: he depicts them in a lively manner, growing in beauty in proportion to their age.

Francesco the Fleming limited himself more to the tender forms of little children, and in creating this likeness he miraculously advanced the manner, which is now imitated by everyone[4]and In Rome, in the church of Santa Maria dell'Anima, he made two tombs which are built up against columns on either side.

It is nature, rather than art, that has formed them; the marble is softened into living flesh[4]Even Johann Joachim Winckelmann, who generally was a critic of the Baroque,[4] commented: Our artists resemble the classical sculptors in the sense that they too do not know how to make beautiful children, and I believe that they prefer to choose a Cupid by Fiammingo [Duquesnoy] to imitate than on by Praxiteles himself.

I do not believe that I am overstepping the mark when I say that Fiammingo acted like a new Prometheus, by modelling creaturres that were rarely seen[4]Many notable artists visited Van den Eynde's tomb in Rome to reproduce his epitaph in drawing and painting.