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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, Saut 1, Agathe Wagner

Saut 1

Agathe Wagner

Painting - 50 x 70 x 1 cm Painting - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch

$771

Sculpture, Rider, Petar Iliev

Rider

Petar Iliev

Sculpture - 24.5 x 28 x 8 cm Sculpture - 9.6 x 11 x 3.1 inch

$2,491

Painting, Skier, Rinalds Vanadzins

Skier

Rinalds Vanadzins

Painting - 34.8 x 49.8 x 0.3 cm Painting - 13.7 x 19.6 x 0.1 inch

$800

Photography, St Moritz, Slim Aarons

St Moritz

Slim Aarons

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

$6,098

Photography, JPS style, Gerry Cranham

JPS style

Gerry Cranham

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

$819

Print, La Randonnée, Dréa

La Randonnée

Dréa

Print - 71.1 x 50.8 x 0.3 cm Print - 28 x 20 x 0.1 inch

$200

Photography, Lawn Bowls, Slim Aarons

Lawn Bowls

Slim Aarons

Photography - 76.2 x 101.6 cm Photography - 30 x 40 inch

$3,707

Photography, Golfing Pals, Slim Aarons

Golfing Pals

Slim Aarons

Photography - 101.6 x 101.6 cm Photography - 40 x 40 inch

$4,378

Photography, Caped Skiers, Slim Aarons

Caped Skiers

Slim Aarons

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

$4,211

Painting, Surfing, Trayko Popov

Surfing

Trayko Popov

Painting - 55 x 75 x 0.5 cm Painting - 21.7 x 29.5 x 0.2 inch

$771

Photography, St Moritz, Slim Aarons

St Moritz

Slim Aarons

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

$4,401

Print, Laser Fun, Alan Kingsland

Laser Fun

Alan Kingsland

Print - 55.9 x 72.4 x 1.3 cm Print - 22 x 28.5 x 0.5 inch

$700

Painting, Sotogrande, Elena Done

Sotogrande

Elena Done

Painting - 97 x 130 x 1.8 cm Painting - 38.2 x 51.2 x 0.7 inch

$4,450