Man with pipe

Gerard Cornelis Krol (1882-1950) was a Dutch painter born in Rotterdam. He was educated at the Academy of Visual Arts and Technical Sciences in Rotterdam. His teachers there were Alexander van Maasdijk and Ferdinand Oldewelt.

Krol was an artistically dressed man with a striking head, a gag and a beard. In November 1909, he moved to Enschede. As an artist, he clearly distinguished himself from the working population of Enschede at that time. He mainly used the following subjects in his paintings: farmhouses, peat ponds, fields of rye, still lifes and especially portraits. He worked in the style of the Hague School.

Krol was, of necessity, a painter who had to make a living from his work. Precisely because of his many clients, his work was of varying quality. However, it was always truthful, depicting the everyday life in a beautiful manner.

Krol was also a board member of De Twentsche Kunstkring, which was founded in 1934. Famous members of the Twentsche Kunstkring were Bert Henri Bolink, Kees Broerse, Jan Broeze, Evert Rabbers, Pieter Arie Nijgh, Willem de Wijs, Riem Visser and Ina Scholten-van Heek. Their work was not revolutionary, rather conservative. In doing so, they have captured a ‘vanished world’, a unique time image of Twente in the first half of the 20th century.