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Hildebrand Lucien (Hildo) Krop (26 February 1884, Steenwijk, Overijssel – 20 August 1970) was a prolific Dutch sculptor and furniture designer, widely known as the city sculptor of Amsterdam, where his work is well represented.
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 1914 he married Mien Sleef and he moved to Plantage Muidergracht, where he opened his studio. 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 architects Johan van der Mey, Piet Kramer and Michel de Klerk are his. After this building, Krop received appointment as city sculptor. Krop's work was included in the 1939 exhibition and sale Onze Kunst van Heden (Our Art of Today) at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
He was responsible for sculptures on many bridges and houses in Amsterdam. These include the Hendrik Berlage monument on Victory Square and the plaque at the monument on the Afsluitdijk. In The Hague, he designed the war memorial at Nassau Square. The art nouveau villa Rams Woerthe in Steenwijk has rooms that feature a varied collection of his work. Hildo Krop also designed furniture, ceramics (ESKAF)," Beeldende kunst," in trouw.nl, 10/02/00; Note about an exhibition at the Princessehof Ceramics Museum about Eerste Steenwijker Kunstaardewerkfabriek (ESKAF) 1919-1927 held work by Krop and Cornelis van der Sluys. glass and ironworks.
Krop was active through 1967. He was buried in Zorgvlied.
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.
Krop married Frederika Willemina ("Mien") Sleef on 24 December 1914. They had two children, a daughter and a son. A third child (son) died young. His father-in-law J. W. Sleef was a typographer, a prominent member of the Dutch socialist party and sometime chairman of the Amsterdam section of the socialist SDAP party. Through this family connection, Krop came into contact with leftist organizations and thought.
Politics
Krop became a member of the Social Democratic Labour Party in 1908, but out of enthusiasm for the October Revolution and disappointment with social-democratic support for World War I (specifically, an advertisement for German in Het Volk) he switched allegiances to communism. In 1921, he designed the cover for Henriette Roland Holst's book Soviet Russia. In 1931, he made a bust of Lenin. In 1932, he traveled to the Soviet Union and stayed three months.
Family
Krop was the son of Henry Krop, baker, and Johanna Louisa Cordes. He had two brothers and four sisters.
Works in Amsterdam
Other works
Further reading
External links
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