Hildo Krop
Encyclopedia
Hildebrand Lucien Krop (February 26, 1884, Steenwijk
Steenwijk
Steenwijk is a city in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is located in the municipality of Steenwijkerland. It is the largest town of the municipality.Steenwijk received city rights in 1327...

, Overijssel
Overijssel
Overijssel is a province of the Netherlands in the central eastern part of the country. The region has a NUTS classification of NL21. The province's name means "Lands across river IJssel". The capital city of Overijssel is Zwolle and the largest city is Enschede...

 - August 20, 1970) was a prolific Dutch sculptor and furniture designer, widely known as the city sculptor of Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

, where his work is well-represented.

Life

Krop was a baker
Baker
A baker is someone who bakes and sells bread, Cakes and similar foods may also be produced, as the traditional boundaries between what is produced by a baker as opposed to a pastry chef have blurred in recent decades...

's son. Unwilling to work with an older brother, he set off on his own. In Leiden, he took modeling classes to make marzipan
Marzipan
Marzipan is a confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal. Persipan is a similar, yet less expensive product, in which the almonds are replaced by apricot or peach kernels...

 figures. He also worked in France and Italy and as a pastry cook.

Arts

By 1906, Krop was in England, employed by a couple as a cook. He discovered his talent as a draftsman and attended summer school in art. Back in the Netherlands, he decided to become an artist and went to Paris, where studied at the Académie Julian
Académie Julian
The Académie Julian was an art school in Paris, France.Rodolphe Julian established the Académie Julian in 1868 at the Passage des Panoramas, as a private studio school for art students. The Académie Julian not only prepared students to the exams at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts, but offered...

. In 1908, he studied at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Amsterdam. From sculptor John Rädecker he learned stone carving
Stone carving
Stone carving is an ancient activity where pieces of rough natural stone are shaped by the controlled removal of stone. Owing to the permanence of the material, evidence can be found that even the earliest societies indulged in some form of stone work....

. In 1910, he taught at a high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 in Haarlem
Haarlem
Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...

. In 1911-1912, he studied in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 and then traveled from Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, where he joined Dutch painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

 Jacob Bendien. He befriended Ossip Zadkine
Ossip Zadkine
Ossip Zadkine was a Belarusian-born artist who lived in France. He is primarily known as a sculptor, but also produced paintings and lithographs.-Early years and career:...

, who taught him sculpture and direct carving. At the end of 1912, he returned to Amsterdam.

After several small jobs, Krop worked with Joop van Lunteren and Anton Rädecker as an assistant in the studio of Hendrik van den Eijnde, 1913 - 1916. In 1916, he became a staff member of the Amsterdam Department of Public Works. He created two groups of dockworkers in granite for a 1916 Public Works project. His work appears integrated with many civic buildings and bridges of the time. For instance, he designed exterior figures on the Scheepvaarthuis by Amsterdam School
Amsterdam School
The Amsterdam School is a style of architecture that arose from 1910 through about 1930 in The Netherlands...

 architects Johan van der Mey
Johan van der Mey
Johan Melchior van der Mey was a Dutch architect best known for the landmark Scheepvaarthuis building in Amsterdam located at Prins Hendrikkade, 1012....

, Piet Kramer
Piet Kramer
Pieter Lodewijk Kramer was a Dutch architect, one of the most important architects of the Amsterdam School ....

 and Michel de Klerk
Michel de Klerk
Michel de Klerk was a Dutch architect.He was one of the founding architects of the movement Amsterdam School. Early in his career he worked for other architects, including Eduard Cuypers. Of his many outstanding designs, very few have actually been built...

 are his. After this building, Krop received appointment as city sculptor.

He was responsible for sculptures on many bridges and houses in Amsterdam. The include the Berlage monument on Victory Square and the plaque at the monument on the Dike. At the Nassau Square in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

 is his war memorial. The beautiful art nouveau villa Rams Woerth in Steenwijk has rooms that feature a varied collection of his work. Hildo Krop also designed furniture, ceramics (ESKAF), glass (Leerdam) and ironworks.

Krop was active through 1967. He was buried on Zorgvlied.

Politics

Krop spent much of his life among communist circles. In 1921, he designed the cover for H. Roland Holst's book Soviet Russia. In 1931, he made a bust of Lenin. In 1932, he traveled to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 and stayed three months.

Krop also cooperated with Soviet intelligence agents. His first spymaster was Max Friedman. Through him, he came to know "Ludwik" (Ignace Reiss). In June 1937, he drew a study of Reiss on the back of a menu for a later bust.

Family

Krop was the son of Henry Krop, baker, and Johanna Louisa Cordes. He had two brothers and four sisters.

Krop married Frederika Willemnia ("Mien") Sleef on December 24, 1914. They had two children, a daughter and a son. A third child (son) died young. His father-in-law was the daughter of a prominent member of the Dutch socialist party. Through this family connection, Krop came into contact with left organizations and thought.

List

Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

:
  • Mercurius en de windstreken (1916–18), Telefoondienst, Herengracht (nu Kamerlingh Onneslaan)
  • Graf Albert Hahn (1918–19), Nieuwe Oosterbegraafplaats
  • De geboorte van de daad (1921–24), Berlage Lyceum Jozef Israëlskade
  • Menselijke energie (1921–24), Berlage Lyceum Jozef Israëlskade
  • Overvloed en Verkeer (1922), viaduct Spaarndammerstraat/Westerpark/Nassauplein
  • Faun
    Faun
    The faun is a rustic forest god or place-spirit of Roman mythology often associated with Greek satyrs and the Greek god Pan.-Origins:...

    (1924–25), brug Raadhuisstraat/Keizersgracht
  • Verkeer (1926), houtreliëf, tramremise Lekstraat
  • Moeder Aarde (1926), Weteringplantsoen
  • De onbevangenheid tegenover het leven (1929–32), Muzenplein
  • Lezende jongen ('Geschiedenis') (1929), school Deurloostraat/Geulstraat
  • Stedemaagd (1933), keramisch reliëf, Berlagebrug
  • Nieuw leven/Handen van de Schepper (1939–40), brug Bernard Zweerskade/Beethovenstraat
  • Gedenksteen Hongerwinter (1945), Oosterkerk
  • Monument gefusilleerden (1947), Marnixstraat
  • Monument Henri Viotta (1948), Wagnerstraat
  • Fortuna (1948), Muntplein
  • Verzetsmonument (1948), Nieuwe Oosterbegraafplaats
  • De beschermer en handhaver van de sociale wetgeving (1954), Rijksverzekeringsbank/Apollo House, Apollolaan/Stadionweg
  • Nimf/Baadster (1954–56), Marnixbad
  • Baruch Spinoza
    Baruch Spinoza
    Baruch de Spinoza and later Benedict de Spinoza was a Dutch Jewish philosopher. Revealing considerable scientific aptitude, the breadth and importance of Spinoza's work was not fully realized until years after his death...

    (1959), Spinozalyceum
  • Monument joodse grossiers (1959), Centrale Markthallen
  • Zeevaart, handel, recht (1966–67), betonreliëfs Universiteitsbibliotheek, Singel
  • Monument H.P. Berlage
    Hendrik Petrus Berlage
    thumb|120px|left|BerlageHendrik Petrus Berlage, Amsterdam, 21 February 1856 — The Hague 12 August 1934, was a prominent Dutch architect.-Overview:...

    (1966), Victorieplein
  • Europa, 1953


Afsluitdijk
Afsluitdijk
The Afsluitdijk is a major causeway in the Netherlands, constructed between 1927 and 1933 and running from Den Oever on Wieringen in North Holland province, to the village of Zurich in Friesland province, over a length of and a width of 90 m, at an initial height of 7.25 m above sea-level.It is...

: Reliëf aan het Monument Afsluitdijk, 1940

Amersfoort
Amersfoort
Amersfoort is a municipality and the second largest city of the province of Utrecht in central Netherlands. The city is growing quickly but has a well-preserved and protected medieval centre. Amersfoort is one of the largest railway junctions in the country, because of its location on two of the...

: Reliëfs (1917–1938) en kopieën in 1957 (kalkzandsteen) van het oorspronkelijke beeldhouwwerk (beton) van François Gos en Firmin de Smet, Belgenmonument (Amersfoort) op de Amersfoortse Berg

Antwerp: Drang naar het leven, Beeldenpark Openluchtmuseum voor beeldhouwkunst Middelheim, Antwerpen 1949-51

Breda
Breda
Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance...

: Tegeltableaus op het voormalig Gerechtsgebouw Breda in Breda Centrum

Delfzijl
Delfzijl
Delfzijl is a municipality and city in the northeast of the Netherlands. It is situated on the left bank of the river Ems estuary, which forms the border with Germany.-Population centres:...

: Ontmoeting tussen water en land, sluizen Eemskanaal

The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

:
  • Simon van Leeuwen (1938), Hoge Raad
  • Monument omgekomen PTT-ers (1950)


Gouda
Gouda
Gouda is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Gouda, which was granted city rights in 1272, is famous for its Gouda cheese, smoking pipes, and 15th-century city hall....

: Buste Erasmus (1950), herplaatst bij St.Janskerk

Kampen
Kampen (Overijssel)
Kampen is a municipality, a city and an old Hanseatic city at the lower reaches of the river IJssel in the Dutch province of Overijssel.The municipality of Kampen counts 50,073 inhabitants in an area of approximately 162 km² . Kampen is located in the North West of Overijssel and is the...

: Oorlogsmonument (1949), De La Sablonièrekade

Leeuwarden:
  • Monument Pieter Jelles Troelstra
    Pieter Jelles Troelstra
    Pieter Jelles Troelstra was a Dutch politician active in the socialist workers' movement. He is most remembered for his fight for universal suffrage and his failed call for revolution at the end of World War I...

    (1961–62), Oldehoofsterkerkhof
  • Theo van Welderen Rengers (1955), Vrouwenpoort/Westerplantage


Utrecht (city)
Utrecht (city)
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...

:
  • Gevelversiering van een adelaar met een nest jongen in een omgekeerde Mercuriushelm (1920), Zeezicht Zalencentrum op de hoek Nobelstraat/Keizerstraat (voormalig gebouw van de Incassobank)
  • Gevelversiering Woningcomplex "Utrecht" (1923), Oudwijk

Linked to images


External sources

  • Fixed & Chiselled: Sculpture in architecture 1840-1940, Ype Koopmans, NA1 Uitgevers/Publishers, 1994

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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