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, Lieutenant, Mark Leech

Mark Leech

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

$1,133

Photography, King Eric, Mark Leech

Mark Leech

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

$1,133

Photography, Diego, Mark Leech

Mark Leech

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

$1,292

Photography, Retrouvailles, Mark Leech

Mark Leech

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

$1,133

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

$3,655

Painting, New era, Santial

Santial

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

$6,701

Painting, La loma, Chicho

Chicho

Painting - 100 x 70 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 27.6 x 1.2 inch

$3,168

Photography, Tabac, Amrita Bilimoria

Amrita Bilimoria

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

$1,600

Painting, Ballet-2, Anand Manchiraju

Anand Manchiraju

Painting - 54.6 x 69.9 cm Painting - 21.5 x 27.5 inch

$2,500

Painting, Ballet-1, Anand Manchiraju

Anand Manchiraju

Painting - 54.6 x 69.9 cm Painting - 21.5 x 27.5 inch

$2,500

Photography, Woke up like that, Nir Hadar

Nir Hadar

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

$3,500

Painting, Sunny beach, Klimenko Olena

Klimenko Olena

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

$567

Painting, Glisse, Perrine Vilmot

Perrine Vilmot

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

$268

Photography, Jimmy Connors, Arthur Steel

Arthur Steel

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

$2,224

Print, Le Tiercé, Victor Spahn

Victor Spahn

Print - 30 x 60 x 0.2 cm Print - 11.8 x 23.6 x 0.1 inch

$268

Print, Polo, Victor Spahn

Victor Spahn

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

$268

Print, France '98, Victor Spahn

Victor Spahn

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

$268

Photography, Caveman, Christophe Paucelier

Christophe Paucelier

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

$1,157

Painting, Saut de la ballerine, FXV

FXV

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

$549

Painting, In game, Ed Potapenkov

Ed Potapenkov

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

$3,655

Painting, Kite-Surfer, Marco

Marco

Painting - 30 x 30 x 3 cm Painting - 11.8 x 11.8 x 1.2 inch

$305

Painting, Champion, Anatoly Varvarov

Anatoly Varvarov

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

$7,189

Painting, Judo, Frederic Weisz

Frederic Weisz

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

$3,412

Painting, Squash, Frederic Weisz

Frederic Weisz

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

$3,655

Photography, Grand col Ferret, Alexis Berg

Alexis Berg

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

$1,462

Print, Baby, LN Le Cheviller

LN Le Cheviller

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

$158

Photography, Roger II, Corinne Dubreuil

Corinne Dubreuil

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

$1,340

Photography, Dale Diving, Tony Potts

Tony Potts

Photography - 40.6 x 50.8 cm Photography - 16 x 20 inch

$1,900

Painting, Marathon 10, Arno Lanzi

Arno Lanzi

Painting - 40 x 50 x 1 cm Painting - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch

$1,340

Photography, Bolchoi IV, Gérard Uféras

Gérard Uféras

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

$1,828

Photography, Teddy, Eliot Blondet

Eliot Blondet

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

$1,767

Painting, Pointes, Elina Bilous

Elina Bilous

Painting - 250 x 200 x 2.5 cm Painting - 98.4 x 78.7 x 1 inch

$6,800

Photography, Kito de Pavant, Maud Bernos

Maud Bernos

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

$3,655

Painting, Olympic Games, Jo Di Bona

Jo Di Bona

Painting - 80 x 120 x 3 cm Painting - 31.5 x 47.2 x 1.2 inch

$5,483

Painting, Kickboxing, Edgard Mazigi

Edgard Mazigi

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

$3,000

Painting, CR 7, Ayoka Zahir

Ayoka Zahir

Painting - 40 x 30 x 0.01 cm Painting - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch

$396

Painting, Football, Stéphane Cantin

Stéphane Cantin

Painting - 47 x 21 x 1.5 cm Painting - 18.5 x 8.3 x 0.6 inch

$390

Painting, Judo, Stéphane Cantin

Stéphane Cantin

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

$366

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