Hildo Krop

Hildebrand Lucien (Hildo) Krop (February 26, 1884, Steenwijk, Overijssel – August 20, 1970) was a prolific Dutch sculptor and furniture designer, widely known as the city sculptor of Amsterdam, where his work is well represented.

Krop was a baker's son. Unwilling to work with an older brother, he set off on his own. In Leiden, he took modeling classes to make marzipan figures. He also worked in France and Italy and as a pastry cook.

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. In 1908, he studied at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam. From sculptor John Rädecker he learned stone carving under Bart van Hove. In 1910, he taught at the HBS (High school) in Haarlem. In 1911–1912, he spent the winter in Berlin, where he studied art under Georg Kolbe and then traveled from Rome to Paris, where he lived with the painter Jacob Bendien and met the sculptor Ossip Zadkine. With Zadkine he practised sculpture and direct carving in a group called 'En taille directe'. At the end of 1912, he returned to Amsterdam where he learned wood carving in the furniture company of A.M. Stoltz.

After several small jobs, Krop worked with and as an assistant in the studio of , 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.

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