Jan van den Eynde II

Jan van den Eynde II (1620 – 1702) was a Flemish architect and sculptor. In the late 17th century, the van den Eynde family was one of the most prominent families of sculptors in Antwerp, which formed together with the Quellinus, Verbrugghen, Willemssens and Scheemaeckers sculpture workshops a powerful consortium, which secured a monopoly on the sculpture market in Antwerp. Work In 1664, van den Eynde was awarded the commission for the design of the church of Averbode Abbey, having been chosen over Lucas Faydherbe.

The ground plan of the Averbode Abbey church combined a centralized cruciform space to the west for the laity with a deep choir, necessary for Norbertine choral services. The treatment of space was more emphatic in Averbode Abbey's church than in other Norbertine abbey churches, on account of the happy combination of a radial plan with a very long and axially accentuated choir. The design combined Gothic structural forms, such as ribbed vaults, with Renaissance ornamental details. The church is considered a peculiar synthesis of Baroque and Gothic.