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, Tracks IV, Bruno Charoy

Bruno Charoy

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

$1,428

Photography, My Time, Fabrizio Alzati

Fabrizio Alzati

Photography - 20 x 27 cm Photography - 7.9 x 10.6 inch

$416

Painting, Swimmer, Carmen Cañadas

Carmen Cañadas

Painting - 90 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch

$4,759

Fine Art Drawings, Swing golf !, Noël Granger

Noël Granger

Fine Art Drawings - 29 x 21 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.4 x 8.3 x 0 inch

$83

Fine Art Drawings, Putting, golf !, Noël Granger

Noël Granger

Fine Art Drawings - 29 x 21 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.4 x 8.3 x 0 inch

$83

Fine Art Drawings, Golfeur !, Noël Granger

Noël Granger

Fine Art Drawings - 29 x 21 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.4 x 8.3 x 0 inch

$83

Photography, L'Attaquant, Ben B

Ben B

Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.04 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch

$226

Photography, Go Cart Track, Jill Peters

Jill Peters

Photography - 101.6 x 152.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.1 inch

$4,500

Painting, De face, Kalus

Kalus

Painting - 60 x 73 x 3 cm Painting - 23.6 x 28.7 x 1.2 inch

$595

Painting, Rugby 7, Arno Lanzi

Arno Lanzi

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

$297

Photography, Rue Lepic, Bilal Aouffen

Bilal Aouffen

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

$17,846

Photography, A fleur de peau, Benoît Kuhn

Benoît Kuhn

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

$1,071

Photography, Dancer: Bobo, Cody Choi

Cody Choi

Photography - 76.2 x 50.8 x 0.2 cm Photography - 30 x 20 x 0.1 inch

$413

Fine Art Drawings, Chute, Julián Fourcade

Julián Fourcade

Fine Art Drawings - 26 x 36 cm Fine Art Drawings - 10.2 x 14.2 inch

$226

Painting, Set, Pascal Astier

Set

Pascal Astier

Painting - 60 x 60 x 3.5 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 1.4 inch

$1,428

Painting, Vers l'arrivée, Kalus

Kalus

Painting - 38 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 15 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch

$297

Print, Tableau 80, Leyoy

Leyoy

Print - 100 x 100 x 1 cm Print - 39.4 x 39.4 x 0.4 inch

$2,498

Painting, Olympic Games, Jo Di Bona

Jo Di Bona

Painting - 80 x 120 x 3 cm Painting - 31.5 x 47.2 x 1.2 inch

$5,354

Photography, At the club, David Arky

David Arky

Photography - 76.2 x 76.2 x 2 cm Photography - 30 x 30 x 0.8 inch

$3,974

Painting, Yendo, Ana Patitú

Ana Patitú

Painting - 60 x 80 x 3.5 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 1.4 inch

$2,082

Painting, Zone, Axel Gercke

Axel Gercke

Painting - 37 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 14.6 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch

$1,428

Painting, Force 5, Odette Muller

Odette Muller

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

$1,428

Photography, Golfer, Jan Brunclík

Jan Brunclík

Photography - 42.5 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 16.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch

$904

Painting, Butterfly, Ana Patitú

Ana Patitú

Painting - 100 x 73 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 28.7 x 1.2 inch

$2,617

Photography, Le dernier run, Pierre Moreau

Pierre Moreau

Photography - 50 x 75 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0 inch

$2,261

Photography, Bucéphale, Pierre Moreau

Pierre Moreau

Photography - 50 x 75 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0 inch

$2,261

Painting, Le golfeur, Lola B

Lola B

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

$1,071

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