Sport

At school, we sometimes tend to oppose athletes and artists. However, sport and art often mix and sublimate each other. The meeting of these two disciplines is frequent in the history of art and more particularly in contemporary art. 

Already during Antiquity, the Greeks devoted an absolute cult to the perfect athletic body. On pots and vases, artists painted the exploits of the competitors of the first Olympic Games in the 8th century BC.

Whatever the medium (photography, painting, sculpture, collage...), the musculature and the psychological state of the sportsmen, the places of training or the competitions are inexhaustible sources of inspiration for the artists. Between the representation of reality and the hijacking of a symbol, sport is a recurring theme for young artists.

Discover with Artsper our Olympic podium of artworks!

Photography is probably the first medium that comes to mind when representing sports. It is the only medium that allows us to capture images of the athletes' prowess at full speed. Thus, the shots are taken on the spot to offer a better rendering of the movement and to manage to capture the palpable tension on the field, the team cohesion, the crucial moment...

A leader of the new wave, Gerry Cranham had a career in athletics before becoming a coach. Passionate about photography, he takes pictures of the young people he coaches in order to correct their position and analyze their stride. Very quickly, he decided to convert his hobby into a real job. He became a sports photographer and quickly built a reputation as one of the leading sports photographers in England and internationally. His pictures of rugby, soccer, tennis, wrestling and swimming were published all over the world in the most prestigious magazines such as Sport Illustrated or The Observer. 

But sport also inspired painters and it is found in all artistic movements of the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1853, Gustave Courbet painted "The Wrestlers", a large oil on canvas depicting two men practicing French wrestling in the old hippodrome of the Champs Élysées. To the right, in the background, one can see the audience, cheering the athletes. Among the Impressionists, Claude Monet developed his technique with "Les Régates d'Argenteuil", an 1872 painting in which the boats are reflected in the water in a magnificent way. In modern art, Nicolas de Staël's "Les Footballeurs" represents a soccer field in the middle of a match, but in an abstract way. The players are discernible thanks to the flat colors that make up the team jerseys. 

You too can bring your passions to life through contemporary sports paintings, sculptures and photographs. Discover the work of well-known and emerging artists such as Victor Spahn, Isabelle Picarel, Michel Birot, Chiara Dazi and many others... 

Read more
Painting, Régate, Pierrick Tual

Pierrick Tual

Painting - 30 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch

€720

Painting, Portrait #02, Koba

Koba

Painting - 24 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 9.4 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch

€190

Sculpture, Giants, High jump in Rio, JR

JR

Sculpture - 99 x 55 x 20 cm Sculpture - 39 x 21.7 x 7.9 inch

€10,000

Painting, Boxe, Quentin Caillat

Quentin Caillat

Painting - 80 x 20 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 7.9 x 0.8 inch

€500

Print, Tennis, Gilles Aillaud

Gilles Aillaud

Print - 76 x 56 cm Print - 29.9 x 22 inch

€1,200

Photography, Sir Alex, Mark Leech

Mark Leech

Photography - 30 x 45 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 x 0 inch

€700

Painting, Pojukx, Remix

Remix

Painting - 39 x 37 x 3 cm Painting - 15.4 x 14.6 x 1.2 inch

€590

Sculpture, Discobole, André Michel

André Michel

Sculpture - 28 x 18 x 12 cm Sculpture - 11 x 7.1 x 4.7 inch

€640

Photography, Tracks II, Bruno Charoy

Bruno Charoy

Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch

€800

Painting, Oceano, Roberta Pinna

Roberta Pinna

Painting - 30.5 x 20.3 x 0.8 cm Painting - 12 x 8 x 0.3 inch

€1,368

Print, Tennis, Fifo Stricker

Fifo Stricker

Print - 59 x 39 x 0.1 cm Print - 23.2 x 15.4 x 0 inch

€540

Photography, Untitled, Chema Madoz

Chema Madoz

Photography - 60 x 50 cm Photography - 23.6 x 19.7 inch

€6,150

Fine Art Drawings, Orange_1, Goddog

Goddog

Fine Art Drawings - 32 x 24 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 12.6 x 9.4 x 0.1 inch

€250

Painting, Agia Anna, Antoine Renault

Antoine Renault

Painting - 70 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

€4,400

Painting, La Revanche, Clara Breuil

Clara Breuil

Painting - 80 x 80 x 5 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 2 inch

€4,000

Painting, Cad'Déb', René Goxes

René Goxes

Painting - 50 x 65 x 5 cm Painting - 19.7 x 25.6 x 2 inch

€2,100

Photography, Polytechnique, Patrick Gripe

Patrick Gripe

Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch

€950

Photography, L'attente, Olivier Morin

Olivier Morin

Photography - 76 x 115 x 1 cm Photography - 29.9 x 45.3 x 0.4 inch

€950

Photography, Lelo 1, Cristina Aldehuela

Cristina Aldehuela

Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch

€1,100

Painting, S. Chabal, Remi Bertoche

Remi Bertoche

Painting - 100 x 100 x 5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 2 inch

€12,300

Painting, Athlétisme 1, Arno Lanzi

Arno Lanzi

Painting - 92 x 73 cm Painting - 36.2 x 28.7 inch

€2,500

Sculpture, Sprinter, Luc Benedetti

Luc Benedetti

Sculpture - 28 x 45 x 10 cm Sculpture - 11 x 17.7 x 3.9 inch

€8,000

Painting, Nadal, Fanni Mayer

Fanni Mayer

Painting - 100 x 81 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.9 x 0.8 inch

€4,200

Painting, Joana, Ludovic Glatard

Ludovic Glatard

Painting - 70 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch

€600

Print, Diversions, Jeffrey Isaac

Jeffrey Isaac

Print - 94.5 x 70 x 0.2 cm Print - 37.2 x 27.6 x 0.1 inch

€600

Painting, Euhhh, Tristan Wu

Tristan Wu

Painting - 70 x 50 x 0.2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch

€580

Painting, Lancement, Aurino Jottar

Aurino Jottar

Painting - 60 x 35 x 3 cm Painting - 23.6 x 13.8 x 1.2 inch

€2,500

Photography, Silhouettes, Lionel Hahn

Lionel Hahn

Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch

€990

Photography, Tchernobyl, Guillaume Herbaut

Guillaume Herbaut

Photography - 60 x 75 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 29.5 x 0 inch

€2,950

Sculpture, Challenge (Red), Mark Sugar

Mark Sugar

Sculpture - 41 x 23 x 22 cm Sculpture - 16.1 x 9.1 x 8.7 inch

€750

Photography, Ensemble, Julien Poupart

Julien Poupart

Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch

€950

Painting, Jordan 1, Luc Abalo

Luc Abalo

Painting - 200 x 130 x 5 cm Painting - 78.7 x 51.2 x 2 inch

€10,000

Print, Mats, Stephen Holland

Stephen Holland

Print - 61 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Print - 24 x 16 x 2 inch

€547

Painting, Cheval rouge, Gen Paul

Gen Paul

Painting - 33 x 22 x 0.5 cm Painting - 13 x 8.7 x 0.2 inch

€6,900

Painting, Slapshot, Ferenc Flamm

Ferenc Flamm

Painting - 88.9 x 94 x 3.8 cm Painting - 35 x 37 x 1.5 inch

€1,459