Piet Esser (Willem Pieter Esser, Amsterdam, 9 March 1914 – Amsterdam, 19 November 2004) was a Dutch sculptor and medallist known for his balanced, realistic style and his craftsmanship in portraiture.

Esser trained at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam and developed under the guidance of Jan Bronner, who taught him that a good sculpture must have both structure and character. He was one of the best-known representatives of the so-called Group of Figurative Abstraction (in short, The Group), which continued to cherish the human figure as a central motif at a time when the art world was becoming increasingly abstract.

Esser's oeuvre includes monumental sculptures, portraits and medals, with a strong emphasis on anatomy, expression and refinement. He made portraits of prominent figures such as Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard, but also of writers and scientists, always with attention to both external resemblance and inner character. His sculptures exude a classical calm and control, but are never cold or distant – he sought the lively tension in posture and detail.

Esser also spent an important part of his career as a teacher at the Rijksakademie, where he trained generations of young sculptors and tirelessly propagated his plea for craftsmanship and control of form. His influence on Dutch sculpture thus extends beyond his own oeuvre.

In addition to his sculptures, Esser was a skilled medallist. He saw medal art as a small but fully-fledged sculpture, in which the story had to be told on an intimate scale. His medals are loved for their powerful relief and subtle modeling.

Piet Esser received many official commissions during his long career, including war and resistance monuments. A well-known work is the National Monument for the Corps of Mounted Artillery in 't Harde. His sculptures can be found in public spaces throughout the Netherlands, recognizable by their human scale and careful design.

Although his style was often characterized as conservative in an age of avant-garde, he always remained true to his vision that the human figure and craftsmanship form an enduring core of sculpture, leaving behind a legacy of understated yet powerful images that continue to move.