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

$4,983

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

$937

Print, Untitled, Ernst Fuchs

Untitled

Ernst Fuchs

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

$2,500

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

$593

Painting, Bliss, Mathieu Questel

Bliss

Mathieu Questel

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

$5,932

Photography, Evasion, Olivier Morin

Evasion

Olivier Morin

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

$783

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

$1,542

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

$795

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

$795

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

$795

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

$795

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

$795

Print, Death04026, Death NYC

Death04026

Death NYC

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

$106

Painting, Perast, Alexander Shandor

Perast

Alexander Shandor

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

$6,000

Painting, Sailing, Trayko Popov

Sailing

Trayko Popov

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

$1,780

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

$593

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

$2,448

Painting, Marathon, Klimenko Olena

Marathon

Klimenko Olena

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

$564

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

$712

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

$1,459

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

$1,542

Photography, Rafa 3, Corinne Dubreuil

Rafa 3

Corinne Dubreuil

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

$1,186

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

$8,542

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

$2,017

Painting, Bullfight, Benavente Solis

Bullfight

Benavente Solis

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

$2,373

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

$2,669

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

$949

Painting, Compétition, Sylvie Eudes

Compétition

Sylvie Eudes

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

$1,305

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

$300

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

$300