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... 

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Photography, Woke up like that, Nir Hadar

Nir Hadar

Photography . 120 x 80 x 5 cm Photography . 47.2 x 31.5 x 2 inch

£2,839

Photography, Planète Mars, Rodrigo

Rodrigo

Photography . 35.6 x 26.7 x 0.1 cm Photography . 14 x 10.5 x 0 inch

£1,416

Photography, La pelota, Rodrigo

Rodrigo

Photography . 22.6 x 33.9 x 0.1 cm Photography . 8.9 x 13.3 x 0 inch

£1,416

Painting, Resilience, Seromo Okoro

Seromo Okoro

Painting . 61 x 50.8 x 2.5 cm Painting . 24 x 20 x 1 inch

£568

Photography, Vail Skiers, Slim Aarons

Slim Aarons

Photography . 152.4 x 101.6 cm Photography . 60 x 40 inch

£4,074

Painting, Kooo, Tristan Wu

Tristan Wu

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

£514

Photography, Splash!, Richard Dunkley

Richard Dunkley

Photography . 76.2 x 50.8 cm Photography . 30 x 20 inch

£350

Fine Art Drawings, Cyclist, Olena Klymenko

Olena Klymenko

Fine Art Drawings . 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings . 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch

£280

Sculpture, Gymnastique, Jean-Louis Corby

Jean-Louis Corby

Sculpture . 59 x 24 x 17 cm Sculpture . 23.2 x 9.4 x 6.7 inch

Price upon request

Photography, The Old Firm, Gerry Cranham

Gerry Cranham

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

£611

Painting, Portrait #03, Koba

Koba

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

£168

Sculpture, Discobole, André Michel

André Michel

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

£567

Painting, Playing tennis, Pol Ledent

Pol Ledent

Painting . 60 x 50 x 2 cm Painting . 23.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch

£531

Painting, Porsche speed, Spaco

Spaco

Painting . 45 x 38 x 2 cm Painting . 17.7 x 15 x 0.8 inch

£292

Photography, Zermatt Skiing, Slim Aarons

Slim Aarons

Photography . 152.4 x 101.6 cm Photography . 60 x 40 inch

£3,268

Fine Art Drawings, Speed, Olena Klymenko

Olena Klymenko

Fine Art Drawings . 36 x 26 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings . 14.2 x 10.2 x 0 inch

£280

Fine Art Drawings, To victory, Olena Klymenko

Olena Klymenko

Fine Art Drawings . 41 x 31 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings . 16.1 x 12.2 x 0 inch

£363

Sculpture, Surfeur, Gaël Rouxeville

Gaël Rouxeville

Sculpture . 47 x 45 x 21 cm Sculpture . 18.5 x 17.7 x 8.3 inch

£5,092

Photography, Quatrefoil, Tyler Shields

Tyler Shields

Photography . 57.2 x 76.2 cm Photography . 22.5 x 30 inch

£4,056

Painting, Mats Sundin, Stephen Holland

Stephen Holland

Painting . 142.2 x 101.6 x 5.1 cm Painting . 56 x 40 x 2 inch

£6,165

Print, Death04026, Death NYC

Death NYC

Print . 32 x 45 x 0.1 cm Print . 12.6 x 17.7 x 0 inch

£176

Photography, Zermatt Skiing, Slim Aarons

Slim Aarons

Photography . 101.6 x 76.2 cm Photography . 40 x 30 inch

£3,534

Print, France '98, Victor Spahn

Victor Spahn

Print . 60 x 43 x 0.2 cm Print . 23.6 x 16.9 x 0.1 inch

£195

Photography, Tracks IV, Bruno Charoy

Bruno Charoy

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

£1,063

Fine Art Drawings, Speed, Olena Klymenko

Olena Klymenko

Fine Art Drawings . 31 x 41 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings . 12.2 x 16.1 x 0 inch

£319