(b. 1597, Bruxelles, d. 1643, Livorno)

Epitaph of Adriaen Vryburch 1629 Marble Santa Maria dell'Anima, Rome

The young Duquesnoy attracted the attention of some of the most distinguished art connoisseurs in Rome. He received important support from the rich merchant Pietro Pescatore, alias De Visschere, of Flemish origin, who was very interested in art. Duquesnoy had Pescatore to thank for two commissions for funerary monuments set up in the church of Santa Maria dell'Anima in memory of Adriaen Vryburch (1629) and Ferdinand van den Eynde (1633), two members of the Netherlandish colony in Rome.

Of the marble epitaphs constructed by Duquesnoy only these two survive intact, and both deploy the same basic design of a pair of winged putti in relief displaying an inscription. In the earlier of the two, that of Adrien Vrijburgh, there is much use of curves, the inscription appearing on an irregular piece of drapery, and the contours of the monument being enveloped by further elaborate drapery; the marble is pictorially worked, and the 'sfumato' of the children's hair is very characteristic of Duquesnoy's manner.

The later monument, to Ferdinand van den Eynde, is more classicising both in its structure and in its style: the putti lift a drapery to reveal an inscription on a rectangular slab, and the architectural character of the monument is more clearly defined. The drapery and the putti themselves have a remarkable plasticity, and the working of the marble is extremely subtle.

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Author: DUQUESNOY, François Title: Epitaph of Adriaen Vryburch Time-line: 1601-1650 School: Flemish Form: sculpture