The RKD receives sketchbooks from sculptor Fred Carasso

17 April 2025
Fred Carasso's familie schenkt schetsboeken aan het RKD

In connection with the exhibition Memorials: Statues of liberation, which includes work by sculptor Fred Carasso (1899-1969), his family has donated two of his sketchbooks to the RKD.

De beeldhouwer Fred Carasso met een beeld, ca. 1956
1. Louise van der Veen, Fred Carasso with a sculpture, c. 1956, collection RKD

From Italy to the Netherlands

Frederico Carasso was born the son of an Italian furniture maker. He saw himself as an artist from a young age and drew a lot, but at the age of thirteen he had to go to work in the Fiat factories in Turin. He joined the communist party and fled to Paris in 1922, shortly after Mussolini seized power, for political reasons. He was banished from France in 1928 due to his political activism, and was forced to leave Belgium in 1933. He eventually settled in the Netherlands, where he became friends with artists such as Han Wezelaar, Hildo Krop and Leo Braat. He developed as a sculptor in Amsterdam and became part of the Amsterdam sculptors' circle. Carasso succeeded in combining figuration and abstraction in his work. In 1938 he exhibited for the first time in the Netherlands. In 1956 he was appointed professor of sculpture at the Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht.

Fred Carasso, Moi Aussi je suis un sauvage!, begin jaren vijftig, collectie RKD
2. Fred Carasso, Moi Aussi je suis un sauvage!, early 1950s, collection RKD 

The Second World War and commemoration

During the Second World War, Carasso became involved in the resistance, collaborating with the group of Gerrit van der Veen, among others, and becoming friends with him. After the war, he created various resistance and war monuments, the most famous of which is the National Monument for the Merchant Navy from 1957, also known as De Boeg (The Bow). This 46-metre-high monument commemorates the approximately 3,500 Dutch citizens who died at sea during the Second World War. The monument is in the shape of a stylised ship's bow cutting through the waves.

Fred Carasso, Twee schetsen in houtskool voor De Boeg, begin jaren vijftig, collectie RKD
3. Fred Carasso, Two charcoal sketches for De Boeg, early 1950s, collection RKD

Varied sketchbooks

Carasso carefully preserved his drawings and sketches. The sketchbooks that were donated date from the 1950s and contain both quick sketches and more detailed drawings. They also provide a good picture of Carasso's sources of inspiration, from natural history objects to museum visits and from mythological themes to prehistoric murals. The sketchbooks also included two surrealist design drawings in charcoal for De Boeg. These have been added to the exhibition Memorials: Statues of liberation, on display until 10 September 2025. This exhibition displays material from recently digitised sculptor archives of the RKD, including that of Fred Carasso.