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, Nadal, Fanni Mayer

Nadal

Fanni Mayer

Painting - 100 x 81 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.9 x 0.8 inch

€4,200

Fine Art Drawings, Glory day, Zo

Glory day

Zo

Fine Art Drawings - 80 x 60 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.1 inch

€790

Print, Untitled, Ernst Fuchs

Untitled

Ernst Fuchs

Print - 29 x 28 x 1 cm Print - 11.4 x 11 x 0.4 inch

€2,287

Photography, Muay Thai, Emil Farber

Muay Thai

Emil Farber

Photography - 31.3 x 47 x 0.1 cm Photography - 12.3 x 18.5 x 0 inch

€500

Painting, Bliss, Mathieu Questel

Bliss

Mathieu Questel

Painting - 120 x 120 x 2 cm Painting - 47.2 x 47.2 x 0.8 inch

€5,000

Photography, Evasion, Olivier Morin

Evasion

Olivier Morin

Photography - 30 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch

€660

Fine Art Drawings, Scène de corrida, Yves Brayer

Scène de corrida

Yves Brayer

Fine Art Drawings - 23 x 32 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 9.1 x 12.6 x 0.4 inch

€1,300

Painting, Marathon 9, Arno Lanzi

Marathon 9

Arno Lanzi

Painting - 30 x 30 x 1 cm Painting - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch

€670

Painting, Marathon 8, Arno Lanzi

Marathon 8

Arno Lanzi

Painting - 30 x 30 x 1 cm Painting - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch

€670

Painting, Marathon 7, Arno Lanzi

Marathon 7

Arno Lanzi

Painting - 30 x 30 x 1 cm Painting - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch

€670

Painting, Marathon 6, Arno Lanzi

Marathon 6

Arno Lanzi

Painting - 30 x 30 x 1 cm Painting - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch

€670

Painting, Marathon 5, Arno Lanzi

Marathon 5

Arno Lanzi

Painting - 30 x 30 x 1 cm Painting - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch

€670

Print, Death04026, Death NYC

Death04026

Death NYC

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

€89

Painting, Perast, Alexander Shandor

Perast

Alexander Shandor

Painting - 80 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

€5,488

Photography, Géants, Bertrand Desprez

Géants

Bertrand Desprez

Photography - 48 x 40 cm Photography - 18.9 x 15.7 inch

€650

Painting, Sailing, Trayko Popov

Sailing

Trayko Popov

Painting - 70 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch

€1,500

Fine Art Drawings, Le grand saut 5, Agathe Wagner

Le grand saut 5

Agathe Wagner

Fine Art Drawings - 50 x 70 x 2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch

€500

Painting, Mirrors,, Roman Rembovsky

Mirrors,

Roman Rembovsky

Painting - 50 x 59.9 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch

€2,239

Painting, Marathon, Klimenko Olena

Marathon

Klimenko Olena

Painting - 50 x 35 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 13.8 x 0.8 inch

€475

Fine Art Drawings, Untitled, Joan Albert

Untitled

Joan Albert

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

€600

Painting, The Action, Yordan Velkov

The Action

Yordan Velkov

Painting - 20 x 240 x 2 cm Painting - 7.9 x 94.5 x 0.8 inch

€1,230

Fine Art Drawings, Untitled, Joaquín Xaudaró

Untitled

Joaquín Xaudaró

Fine Art Drawings - 16 x 11 cm Fine Art Drawings - 6.3 x 4.3 inch

€1,300

Photography, Rafa 3, Corinne Dubreuil

Rafa 3

Corinne Dubreuil

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

€1,000

Fine Art Drawings, Jungle Book, Patrick Villas

Jungle Book

Patrick Villas

Fine Art Drawings - 145 x 127 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 57.1 x 50 x 0.4 inch

€7,200

Painting, La Tempête, Frank De Blok

La Tempête

Frank De Blok

Painting - 100 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch

€1,700

Painting, Bullfight, Benavente Solis

Bullfight

Benavente Solis

Painting - 35 x 41 x 1 cm Painting - 13.8 x 16.1 x 0.4 inch

€2,000

Print, Army Of Me Blue, Batik

Army Of Me Blue

Batik

Print - 101.6 x 152.4 x 0 cm Print - 40 x 60 x 0.01 inch

€2,250

Photography, Tracks XVI, Bruno Charoy

Tracks XVI

Bruno Charoy

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

€800

Painting, Compétition, Sylvie Eudes

Compétition

Sylvie Eudes

Painting - 30 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch

€1,100

Fine Art Drawings, Fist, Michael Grine

Fist

Michael Grine

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

€274

Fine Art Drawings, Glove, Michael Grine

Glove

Michael Grine

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

€274