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, Boxer Bruce, Sebastian Riemer

Sebastian Riemer

Photography - 125 x 100 x 3 cm Photography - 49.2 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch

€7,000

Painting, Golfeuse, Joelle De Lacanau

Joelle De Lacanau

Painting - 70 x 50 x 4 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 1.6 inch

€250

Painting, Cariatides, Maude Ovize

Maude Ovize

Painting - 116 x 89 x 2 cm Painting - 45.7 x 35 x 0.8 inch

€1,500

Photography, Flame, Yevgeniy Repiashenko

Yevgeniy Repiashenko

Photography - 120 x 120 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 47.2 x 0 inch

€2,620

Painting, Arabesque, Milburn-Foster

Milburn-Foster

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

€6,800

Painting, Les acrobates, Raâk

Raâk

Painting - 13 x 9 x 1.5 cm Painting - 5.1 x 3.5 x 0.6 inch

€500

Sculpture, Teresa, Manuel Mediavilla

Manuel Mediavilla

Sculpture - 46 x 20 x 20 cm Sculpture - 18.1 x 7.9 x 7.9 inch

€4,300

Painting, Surfing, Alla Meleschenko

Alla Meleschenko

Painting - 80 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch

€623

Sculpture, Swing, Bernard Rives

Bernard Rives

Sculpture - 105 x 90 x 30 cm Sculpture - 41.3 x 35.4 x 11.8 inch

€12,500

Painting, Acrobatie, FXV

FXV

Painting - 70 x 50 x 2.5 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 1 inch

€700

Sculpture, Equilibre, Ousmane Dermé

Ousmane Dermé

Sculpture - 52 x 45 x 20 cm Sculpture - 20.5 x 17.7 x 7.9 inch

€3,200

Photography, The Race, Katerina Belkina

Katerina Belkina

Photography - 100 x 130 cm Photography - 39.4 x 51.2 inch

€7,837

Painting, Struggle, Milburn-Foster

Milburn-Foster

Painting - 90 x 90 x 3 cm Painting - 35.4 x 35.4 x 1.2 inch

€6,400

Painting, A Tennis Match, Igor Galan

Igor Galan

Painting - 110 x 150 x 2 cm Painting - 43.3 x 59.1 x 0.8 inch

€5,000

Photography, Dive duo 2, Richard Dunkley

Richard Dunkley

Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 2.5 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 1 inch

€397

Sculpture, Pointe shoes, Alex Radionov

Alex Radionov

Sculpture - 39 x 12 x 10 cm Sculpture - 15.4 x 4.7 x 3.9 inch

€4,893

Sculpture, The jump, Semion Rabinkov

Semion Rabinkov

Sculpture - 73 x 11 x 48 cm Sculpture - 28.7 x 4.3 x 18.9 inch

€3,600

Sculpture, Rebond 30, Daniel Perreu

Daniel Perreu

Sculpture - 24.3 x 15.4 x 2.2 cm Sculpture - 9.6 x 6.1 x 0.9 inch

€890

Photography, Ageha, Nathalie Daoust

Nathalie Daoust

Photography - 45 x 65 x 1 cm Photography - 17.7 x 25.6 x 0.4 inch

€1,100

Sculpture, Mademoiselle, Vyki

Vyki

Sculpture - 57 x 35 x 25 cm Sculpture - 22.4 x 13.8 x 9.8 inch

€7,500

Painting, Tori, Ludovic Glatard

Ludovic Glatard

Painting - 70 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch

€250

Sculpture, Rebond 120, Daniel Perreu

Daniel Perreu

Sculpture - 116.3 x 89.7 x 4.2 cm Sculpture - 45.8 x 35.3 x 1.7 inch

€4,880

Photography, Nude Yoga, Majo Jurcik

Majo Jurcik

Photography - 18.6 x 28 cm Photography - 7.3 x 11 inch

€300

Photography, Spider, Majo Jurcik

Majo Jurcik

Photography - 18.67 x 28 cm Photography - 7.4 x 11 inch

€300

Photography, Y., Majo Jurcik

Y.

Majo Jurcik

Photography - 18.67 x 28 cm Photography - 7.4 x 11 inch

€300

Sculpture, Equilibre, Bernard Rives

Bernard Rives

Sculpture - 150 x 75 x 40 cm Sculpture - 59.1 x 29.5 x 15.7 inch

€8,200

Photography, Piste Noire II, J.Léo

J.Léo

Photography - 108 x 150 x 2 cm Photography - 42.5 x 59.1 x 0.8 inch

€2,700

Sculpture, 173, Mario Dilitz

173

Mario Dilitz

Sculpture - 210 x 70 x 45 cm Sculpture - 82.7 x 27.6 x 17.7 inch

Price upon request

Photography, Quatrefoil, Tyler Shields

Tyler Shields

Photography - 57.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 22.5 x 30 inch

Price upon request

Photography, Quatrefoil (3), Tyler Shields

Tyler Shields

Photography - 142.2 x 182.9 cm Photography - 56 x 72 inch

Price upon request

Photography, Quatrefoil (2), Tyler Shields

Tyler Shields

Photography - 114.3 x 152.4 cm Photography - 45 x 60 inch

Price upon request

Photography, Quatrefoil (1), Tyler Shields

Tyler Shields

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

Price upon request

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