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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Painting, Join the Temple, Pandido

Join the Temple

Pandido

Painting - 80 x 60 x 1 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch

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Fine Art Drawings, Sans titre, Mara

Sans titre

Mara

Fine Art Drawings - 58 x 77.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 22.8 x 30.5 inch

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Painting, Rugby 13, Arno Lanzi

Rugby 13

Arno Lanzi

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

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Fine Art Drawings, Sans titre, Mara

Sans titre

Mara

Fine Art Drawings - 58 x 77.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 22.8 x 30.5 inch

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Painting, Golf, Sylvie Eudes

Golf

Sylvie Eudes

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

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Sculpture, Le Golfeur, M'Phi

Le Golfeur

M'Phi

Sculpture - 43 x 10 x 10 cm Sculpture - 16.9 x 3.9 x 3.9 inch

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Sculpture, La Golfeuse, M'Phi

La Golfeuse

M'Phi

Sculpture - 43 x 10 x 10 cm Sculpture - 16.9 x 3.9 x 3.9 inch

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Sculpture, Boardy, Manon Gribouille

Boardy

Manon Gribouille

Sculpture - 27 x 10 x 2 cm Sculpture - 10.6 x 3.9 x 0.8 inch

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Fine Art Drawings, Formule 1, Noël Granger

Formule 1

Noël Granger

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

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Sculpture, Les Golfeurs, M'Phi

Les Golfeurs

M'Phi

Sculpture - 43 x 40 x 10 cm Sculpture - 16.9 x 15.7 x 3.9 inch

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Fine Art Drawings, Flip, Ayoka Zahir

Flip

Ayoka Zahir

Fine Art Drawings - 70 x 50 x 0.01 cm Fine Art Drawings - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch

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Photography, 24h du Mans, Jacques Violet

24h du Mans

Jacques Violet

Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch

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Photography, 24h du Mans, Jacques Violet

24h du Mans

Jacques Violet

Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch

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Photography, 24h du Mans, Jacques Violet

24h du Mans

Jacques Violet

Photography - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch

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Painting, Somersault, Daniel Gibert

Somersault

Daniel Gibert

Painting - 97 x 146 x 2 cm Painting - 38.2 x 57.5 x 0.8 inch

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Fine Art Drawings, Handlung, Nina Lanner

Handlung

Nina Lanner

Fine Art Drawings - 15 x 10 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 5.9 x 3.9 x 0.1 inch

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Painting, Freedom, Yen'P

Freedom

Yen'P

Painting - 60 x 80 x 1 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.4 inch

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Painting, Namaste, Gabrielle Rul

Namaste

Gabrielle Rul

Painting - 31 x 23 x 0.1 cm Painting - 12.2 x 9.1 x 0 inch

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Sculpture, N° 189, Mario Dilitz

N° 189

Mario Dilitz

Sculpture - 96 x 34 x 20 cm Sculpture - 37.8 x 13.4 x 7.9 inch

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Sculpture, The boxer, Theo Mackaay

The boxer

Theo Mackaay

Sculpture - 50 x 15 x 30 cm Sculpture - 19.7 x 5.9 x 11.8 inch

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Print, Die Olympiker, Lucebert

Die Olympiker

Lucebert

Print - 50 x 65 x 0.05 cm Print - 19.7 x 25.6 x 0 inch

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Sculpture, Sex Toy Story, Gum

Sex Toy Story

Gum

Sculpture - 82 x 21 x 1 cm Sculpture - 32.3 x 8.3 x 0.4 inch

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Print, Amphitrite, Handiedan

Amphitrite

Handiedan

Print - 82 x 21 x 1 cm Print - 32.3 x 8.3 x 0.4 inch

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Sculpture, Handball, M'Phi

Handball

M'Phi

Sculpture - 32 x 20 x 35 cm Sculpture - 12.6 x 7.9 x 13.8 inch

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Fine Art Drawings, Wild surf, Manon Gribouille

Wild surf

Manon Gribouille

Fine Art Drawings - 65 x 50 cm Fine Art Drawings - 25.6 x 19.7 inch

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