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, Abuja, Thomas Hoeffgen

Thomas Hoeffgen

Photography . 42 x 112 x 5 cm Photography . 16.5 x 44.1 x 2 inch

€2,200

Photography, Cardiff by night, Jodi Bieber

Jodi Bieber

Photography . 70 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography . 27.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch

€2,220 €1,998

Print, Swing, Paul Ambille

Paul Ambille

Print . 60 x 45 cm Print . 23.6 x 17.7 inch

€100

Print, Untitled, Ernst Fuchs

Ernst Fuchs

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

€2,282

Photography, Untitled, Chema Madoz

Chema Madoz

Photography . 60 x 50 cm Photography . 23.6 x 19.7 inch

€6,150

Sculpture, Guarani Ball, Romero Britto

Romero Britto

Sculpture . 28 x 23 x 23 cm Sculpture . 11 x 9.1 x 9.1 inch

€2,850

Print, El Festejo, Aryz

Aryz

Print . 100 x 70 cm Print . 39.4 x 27.6 inch

€1,400

Painting, Agia Anna, Antoine Renault

Antoine Renault

Painting . 70 x 100 x 2 cm Painting . 27.6 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

€4,400

Sculpture, Porsche 911, Edu Danesi

Edu Danesi

Sculpture . 76 x 28 x 18 cm Sculpture . 29.9 x 11 x 7.1 inch

€5,400

Painting, Top 14, Alain Arnouil

Alain Arnouil

Painting . 60 x 50 x 2 cm Painting . 23.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch

€580

Print, Equestrian, Zhou Zhiwei

Zhou Zhiwei

Print . 94.5 x 70 x 0.1 cm Print . 37.2 x 27.6 x 0 inch

€420

Painting, Champions #2, Mic Staib

Mic Staib

Painting . 100 x 120 x 4.5 cm Painting . 39.4 x 47.2 x 1.8 inch

€3,800

Photography, Bleu, Antoine Buttafoghi

Antoine Buttafoghi

Photography . 80 x 120 cm Photography . 31.5 x 47.2 inch

€1,400

Photography, Kito de Pavant, Maud Bernos

Maud Bernos

Photography . 80 x 80 x 5 cm Photography . 31.5 x 31.5 x 2 inch

€3,000

Photography, All Black, Isabelle Picarel

Isabelle Picarel

Photography . 53 x 80 x 2 cm Photography . 20.9 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch

€1,200

Painting, Speed Porsche, Edu Danesi

Edu Danesi

Painting . 153 x 122 x 4 cm Painting . 60.2 x 48 x 1.6 inch

€5,500

Fine Art Drawings, The Space Between, Patsy McArthur

Patsy McArthur

Fine Art Drawings . 70 x 88 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings . 27.6 x 34.6 x 0.4 inch

€3,600

Photography, Ascension, Bilal Aouffen

Bilal Aouffen

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

€1,400 €1,260

Print, Dans la lumière, JR

JR

Print . 32 x 24.5 cm Print . 12.6 x 9.6 inch

€4,560

Painting, Pojukx, Remix

Remix

Painting . 39 x 37 x 3 cm Painting . 15.4 x 14.6 x 1.2 inch

€590

Photography, Last (2), Lionel Hahn

Lionel Hahn

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

€3,000 €2,700

Sculpture, Le Swing, Virginie Coste

Virginie Coste

Sculpture . 42.5 x 13 x 22 cm Sculpture . 16.7 x 5.1 x 8.7 inch

€4,500

Painting, Les baigneuses, Marine Walon

Marine Walon

Painting . 58 x 81 x 2 cm Painting . 22.8 x 31.9 x 0.8 inch

€1,600

Photography, Le lutteur, Chiara Dazi

Chiara Dazi

Photography . 60 x 60 cm Photography . 23.6 x 23.6 inch

€1,000

Photography, Lieutenant, Mark Leech

Mark Leech

Photography . 40 x 55 x 0.1 cm Photography . 15.7 x 21.7 x 0 inch

€930

Photography, White Hart Lane, Gerry Cranham

Gerry Cranham

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

€1,500 €1,350

Painting, Art attack, Pegaz

Pegaz

Painting . 81 x 100 x 3 cm Painting . 31.9 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch

€2,000

Painting, The chosen one, Karine Wald

Karine Wald

Painting . 195 x 140 x 4 cm Painting . 76.8 x 55.1 x 1.6 inch

€11,000

Painting, Athlétisme 3, Arno Lanzi

Arno Lanzi

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

€1,400

Photography, Lagos, Thomas Hoeffgen

Thomas Hoeffgen

Photography . 41 x 104 x 0.1 cm Photography . 16.1 x 40.9 x 0 inch

€2,000 €1,800

Photography, Hand I, Laurent Gudin

Laurent Gudin

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

€1,600 €1,440

Photography, Mêlée III, Michel Birot

Michel Birot

Photography . 60 x 90 x 0.1 cm Photography . 23.6 x 35.4 x 0 inch

€1,750

Painting, JOAN, Philippe Niago

Philippe Niago

Painting . 120 x 80 x 2.7 cm Painting . 47.2 x 31.5 x 1.1 inch

€2,500

Photography, Blessed Boss, Mark Lloyd

Mark Lloyd

Photography . 120 x 80 x 4 cm Photography . 47.2 x 31.5 x 1.6 inch

€1,650

Fine Art Drawings, Capbreton, Lydi

Lydi

Fine Art Drawings . 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings . 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch

€190