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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Print, Tennis, Fifo Stricker

Fifo Stricker

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

CHF 525

Print, Show Jumping, Victor Spahn

Victor Spahn

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

CHF 214

Print, La Curva Mortal, IPR Graph

IPR Graph

Print . 80 x 60 x 5 cm Print . 31.5 x 23.6 x 2 inch

CHF 168

Print, The Smash Roar, IPR Graph

IPR Graph

Print . 80 x 60 x 5 cm Print . 31.5 x 23.6 x 2 inch

CHF 168

Print, CR7 Pop Art, IPR Graph

IPR Graph

Print . 80 x 60 x 5 cm Print . 31.5 x 23.6 x 2 inch

CHF 168

Painting, Mickey bulls, Jug

Jug

Painting . 97 x 162 x 4 cm Painting . 38.2 x 63.8 x 1.6 inch

CHF 1,457

Painting, Zwischen, Axel Gercke

Axel Gercke

Painting . 40 x 50 x 2 cm Painting . 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch

CHF 1,166

Photography, Roger II, Corinne Dubreuil

Corinne Dubreuil

Photography . 40 x 60 cm Photography . 15.7 x 23.6 inch

CHF 1,069

Fine Art Drawings, Untitled, Francesc Genovés

Francesc Genovés

Fine Art Drawings . 65 x 50 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings . 25.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch

CHF 539

Photography, Le Volleyeur, Julie Peiffer

Julie Peiffer

Photography . 50 x 50 x 0.04 cm Photography . 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch

CHF 583

Photography, A Young Skier, Toni Frissell

Toni Frissell

Photography . 40 x 40 x 0.01 cm Photography . 15.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch

CHF 962

Painting, Strength, Seromo Okoro

Seromo Okoro

Painting . 50.8 x 40.6 x 2.5 cm Painting . 20 x 16 x 1 inch

CHF 445

Painting, S. Chabal, Remi Bertoche

Remi Bertoche

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

CHF 11,950

Photography, Jordan, Bernard Pras

Bernard Pras

Photography . 106 x 80 x 3 cm Photography . 41.7 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch

CHF 4,858

Photography, JPS style, Gerry Cranham

Gerry Cranham

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

CHF 670

Painting, Skate, Stéphane Cantin

Stéphane Cantin

Painting . 40 x 50 x 2 cm Painting . 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch

CHF 291

Painting, After the rain, Zhao De-Wei

Zhao De-Wei

Painting . 77 x 231 x 4 cm Painting . 30.3 x 90.9 x 1.6 inch

CHF 20,500

Painting, Rugby 16, Arno Lanzi

Arno Lanzi

Painting . 27 x 22 x 1 cm Painting . 10.6 x 8.7 x 0.4 inch

CHF 330

Fine Art Drawings, Fist, Michael Grine

Michael Grine

Fine Art Drawings . 45.7 x 30.5 x 0 cm Fine Art Drawings . 18 x 12 x 0.01 inch

CHF 267

Fine Art Drawings, Glove, Michael Grine

Michael Grine

Fine Art Drawings . 30.5 x 22.9 x 0 cm Fine Art Drawings . 12 x 9 x 0.01 inch

CHF 267

Photography, Ski Bus, Toni Frissell

Toni Frissell

Photography . 101 x 101 cm Photography . 39.8 x 39.8 inch

CHF 2,429

Painting, Surf, Stéphane Cantin

Stéphane Cantin

Painting . 50 x 61 x 1.5 cm Painting . 19.7 x 24 x 0.6 inch

CHF 447

Painting, Days of Grace, Erni Vales

Erni Vales

Painting . 132 x 102 x 5 cm Painting . 52 x 40.2 x 2 inch

CHF 9,473

Painting, Rugby 15, Arno Lanzi

Arno Lanzi

Painting . 27 x 22 x 1 cm Painting . 10.6 x 8.7 x 0.4 inch

CHF 330

Painting, In game, Ed Potapenkov

Ed Potapenkov

Painting . 90 x 140 x 2 cm Painting . 35.4 x 55.1 x 0.8 inch

CHF 2,915