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
Sculpture, Home run, Mitch Richmond

Mitch Richmond

Sculpture . 80 x 6 x 6 cm Sculpture . 31.5 x 2.4 x 2.4 inch

CHF 729

Photography, Ascension, Bilal Aouffen

Bilal Aouffen

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

CHF 1,360

Print, Voluntas, Sam3

Sam3

Print . 49 x 78 cm Print . 19.3 x 30.7 inch

CHF 214

Photography, Lagos, Thomas Hoeffgen

Thomas Hoeffgen

Photography . 41 x 104 x 0.1 cm Photography . 16.1 x 40.9 x 0 inch

CHF 1,943

Photography, Hand I, Laurent Gudin

Laurent Gudin

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

CHF 1,554

Photography, Mêlée III, Michel Birot

Michel Birot

Photography . 60 x 90 x 0.1 cm Photography . 23.6 x 35.4 x 0 inch

CHF 1,700

Photography, Untitled, Chema Madoz

Chema Madoz

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

CHF 5,975

Painting, The Champion, Ashot Avagyan

Ashot Avagyan

Painting . 40 x 30 x 2 cm Painting . 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch

CHF 196

Painting, The chosen one, Karine Wald

Karine Wald

Painting . 195 x 140 x 4 cm Painting . 76.8 x 55.1 x 1.6 inch

CHF 10,687

Photography, Last (2), Lionel Hahn

Lionel Hahn

Photography . 120 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography . 47.2 x 31.5 x 0 inch

CHF 2,915

Painting, New York Giants, Botero Pop

Botero Pop

Painting . 20.3 x 30.5 x 0.3 cm Painting . 8 x 12 x 0.1 inch

CHF 340

Fine Art Drawings, GOLFER 4, Nerza Villegas

Nerza Villegas

Fine Art Drawings . 70 x 50 cm Fine Art Drawings . 27.6 x 19.7 inch

CHF 1,943

Sculpture, Horse race, Mariano Alvarez

Mariano Alvarez

Sculpture . 43 x 52 x 3 cm Sculpture . 16.9 x 20.5 x 1.2 inch

CHF 1,943

Print, Dans la lumière, JR

JR

Print . 32 x 24.5 cm Print . 12.6 x 9.6 inch

CHF 4,430

Painting, Athlétisme 3, Arno Lanzi

Arno Lanzi

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

CHF 1,360

Painting, Hamilton 1, Valérie Durand

Valérie Durand

Painting . 92 x 65 x 3 cm Painting . 36.2 x 25.6 x 1.2 inch

CHF 11,464

Print, Marqui Hors série, C215

C215

Print . 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Print . 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch

CHF 670

Photography, Bertrand de Broc, Maud Bernos

Maud Bernos

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

CHF 2,915

Photography, Mystique, Eric Lalmand

Eric Lalmand

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

CHF 972

Painting, Jordan, Mr Cute

Mr Cute

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

CHF 1,262

Fine Art Drawings, Aphrodite, Laura Partin

Laura Partin

Fine Art Drawings . 150 x 100 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings . 59.1 x 39.4 x 0.1 inch

CHF 2,526

Painting, Oil Team, Irakli Chikovani

Irakli Chikovani

Painting . 110 x 130 x 3 cm Painting . 43.3 x 51.2 x 1.2 inch

CHF 2,332

Painting, Buuuuuuut, Alfa'B

Alfa'B

Painting . 50 x 50 x 4 cm Painting . 19.7 x 19.7 x 1.6 inch

CHF 194

Painting, Skaters24, Karine Bartoli

Karine Bartoli

Painting . 89 x 116 x 4 cm Painting . 35 x 45.7 x 1.6 inch

CHF 2,137

Photography, Tracks V, Bruno Charoy

Bruno Charoy

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

CHF 777

Photography, Roger (4), Corinne Dubreuil

Corinne Dubreuil

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

CHF 1,069

Print, Muhammad Ali, Ronnie Wood

Ronnie Wood

Print . 72.4 x 54.6 cm Print . 28.5 x 21.5 inch

CHF 8,008

Photography, Turn, Gerry Cranham

Gerry Cranham

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

CHF 1,603

Fine Art Drawings, Untitled, Joan Albert

Joan Albert

Fine Art Drawings . 44 x 47 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings . 17.3 x 18.5 x 0 inch

CHF 583

Photography, On target, Marcus Cederberg

Marcus Cederberg

Photography . 50 x 70 x 0.1 cm Photography . 19.7 x 27.6 x 0 inch

CHF 194

Photography, Caveman, Christophe Paucelier

Christophe Paucelier

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

CHF 923

Photography, King Eric, Mark Leech

Mark Leech

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

CHF 904