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Kees de Kruijff's visual oeuvre is firmly rooted in the tradition of figurative sculpture. The group of sculptures placed near the De Stede shopping square in 1975 is illustrative of the artist's working method. The attention of passers-by is almost immediately drawn to a group of seven proud horses. They look alert, lively and combative. The smoothly polished racehorses are made of bronze and have been meticulously finished down to the smallest detail.

De Kruijff studied at the Royal Academy of Art in his hometown The Hague. He continued his training in Belgium and settled permanently in the Hague in 1938. De Kruijff is a typical representative of the group of figurative sculptors who did not care about the ideas spread by the renewal movements. Throughout his life, he remained true to his preference for making recognisable sculptures of human figures and animals. With perseverance and conviction, he held on to craft skills and aesthetic principles.

De Kruijff's images are true to life. They radiate vitality and bring out the best in people and animals. The sculptor was satisfied with the given reality and made it (where possible or desirable) a little more beautiful. He did not feel the need to distort reality by means of an unbridled urge for expression or a thirst for abstraction.