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, Teddy, Eliot Blondet

Teddy

Eliot Blondet

Photography - 50 x 75 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0 inch

$1,729

Sculpture, Altero, Pascal Billard

Altero

Pascal Billard

Sculpture - 40 x 68 x 18 cm Sculpture - 15.7 x 26.8 x 7.1 inch

$1,144

Painting, Art attack, Pegaz

Art attack

Pegaz

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

$2,384

Print, Polo, Victor Spahn

Polo

Victor Spahn

Print - 60 x 43 x 0.2 cm Print - 23.6 x 16.9 x 0.1 inch

$262

Print, France '98, Victor Spahn

France '98

Victor Spahn

Print - 60 x 43 x 0.2 cm Print - 23.6 x 16.9 x 0.1 inch

$262

Painting, Crabminton, Will Eskridge

Crabminton

Will Eskridge

Painting - 76.2 x 101.6 x 3.8 cm Painting - 30 x 40 x 1.5 inch

$3,240

Photography, Lieutenant, Mark Leech

Lieutenant

Mark Leech

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

$1,109

Photography, King Eric, Mark Leech

King Eric

Mark Leech

Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch

$1,109

Photography, Diego, Mark Leech

Diego

Mark Leech

Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0 inch

$1,264

Photography, Retrouvailles, Mark Leech

Retrouvailles

Mark Leech

Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch

$1,109

Photography, Tabac, Amrita Bilimoria

Tabac

Amrita Bilimoria

Photography - 55.9 x 45 x 0.5 cm Photography - 22 x 17.7 x 0.2 inch

$1,600

Painting, New era, Santial

New era

Santial

Painting - 100 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch

$6,557

Painting, FRA 123, Raymond Poulet

FRA 123

Raymond Poulet

Painting - 46 x 38 x 2 cm Painting - 18.1 x 15 x 0.8 inch

$5,484

Photography, Men II, Michel Birot

Men II

Michel Birot

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

$1,419

Painting, Judo, Stéphane Cantin

Judo

Stéphane Cantin

Painting - 40 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch

$358

Photography, Lagos, Thomas Hoeffgen

Lagos

Thomas Hoeffgen

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

$2,384

Sculpture, Discobole JO 2024, PyB

Discobole JO 2024

PyB

Sculpture - 28 x 24 x 3 cm Sculpture - 11 x 9.4 x 1.2 inch

$298

Sculpture, Jordan, PyB

Jordan

PyB

Sculpture - 24 x 26 x 6 cm Sculpture - 9.4 x 10.2 x 2.4 inch

$298

Photography, Abuja, Thomas Hoeffgen

Abuja

Thomas Hoeffgen

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

$2,623

Painting, Glisse, Perrine Vilmot

Glisse

Perrine Vilmot

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

$262

Photography, Ecosse, Isabelle Picarel

Ecosse

Isabelle Picarel

Photography - 53 x 80 x 1 cm Photography - 20.9 x 31.5 x 0.4 inch

$1,550

Photography, Jimmy Connors, Arthur Steel

Jimmy Connors

Arthur Steel

Photography - 61 x 48 x 1 cm Photography - 24 x 18.9 x 0.4 inch

$2,176

Print, Basket, Azucena Gonzalez

Basket

Azucena Gonzalez

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

$356

Painting, Mermaid, Klimenko Olena

Mermaid

Klimenko Olena

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

$542

Painting, Squash, Frederic Weisz

Squash

Frederic Weisz

Painting - 89 x 130 x 5 cm Painting - 35 x 51.2 x 2 inch

$3,576

Photography, Baseball, Nir Hadar

Baseball

Nir Hadar

Photography - 80 x 120 x 5 cm Photography - 31.5 x 47.2 x 2 inch

$3,500

Print, Baby, LN Le Cheviller

Baby

LN Le Cheviller

Print - 30 x 30 x 0.1 cm Print - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0 inch

$155

Painting, Saut de la ballerine, FXV

Saut de la ballerine

FXV

Painting - 70 x 50 x 1.5 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.6 inch

$538

Painting, Rugby 16, Arno Lanzi

Rugby 16

Arno Lanzi

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

$405

Painting, Rugby 10, Arno Lanzi

Rugby 10

Arno Lanzi

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

$298

Painting, Rugby 9, Arno Lanzi

Rugby 9

Arno Lanzi

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

$298

Painting, Kickboxing, Edgard Mazigi

Kickboxing

Edgard Mazigi

Painting - 70 x 62 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 24.4 x 0.8 inch

$3,000

Photography, My Time, Fabrizio Alzati

My Time

Fabrizio Alzati

Photography - 20 x 27 cm Photography - 7.9 x 10.6 inch

$417

Painting, In game, Ed Potapenkov

In game

Ed Potapenkov

Painting - 90 x 140 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 55.1 x 0.8 inch

$3,576

Painting, Champion, Anatoly Varvarov

Champion

Anatoly Varvarov

Painting - 135 x 195 x 2 cm Painting - 53.1 x 76.8 x 0.8 inch

$7,034