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, Marathon 3, Arno Lanzi

Arno Lanzi

Painting . 90 x 70 x 1 cm Painting . 35.4 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch

€2,500

Photography, Laëtitia, Alexis Berg

Alexis Berg

Photography . 70 x 105 x 0.1 cm Photography . 27.6 x 41.3 x 0 inch

€1,620

Painting, Crabminton, Will Eskridge

Will Eskridge

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

€2,949

Print, Untitled, Mario Bedini

Mario Bedini

Print . 80.5 x 60.5 cm Print . 31.7 x 23.8 inch

€400

Painting, Marathon 2, Arno Lanzi

Arno Lanzi

Painting . 90 x 70 x 1 cm Painting . 35.4 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch

€2,500

Photography, Hardrock, Alexis Berg

Alexis Berg

Photography . 70 x 105 x 0.1 cm Photography . 27.6 x 41.3 x 0 inch

€1,620

Painting, Basket Girl, KatRegArt

KatRegArt

Painting . 100 x 100 x 4 cm Painting . 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.6 inch

€3,560

Photography, Home Run, Nir Hadar

Nir Hadar

Photography . 80 x 120 x 2 cm Photography . 31.5 x 47.2 x 0.8 inch

€3,186

Sculpture, Jordan street art, Spaco

Spaco

Sculpture . 22 x 24 x 6 cm Sculpture . 8.7 x 9.4 x 2.4 inch

€260

Photography, Rafa 3, Corinne Dubreuil

Corinne Dubreuil

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

€1,000

Painting, Man and horse, Andrei Sitsko

Andrei Sitsko

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

€1,800

Sculpture, Discobole gold, Spaco

Spaco

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

€250

Painting, Marathon 1, Arno Lanzi

Arno Lanzi

Painting . 90 x 70 x 1 cm Painting . 35.4 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch

€2,500

Photography, Retour, Alexis Berg

Alexis Berg

Photography . 70 x 105 x 0.1 cm Photography . 27.6 x 41.3 x 0 inch

€1,620

Painting, Dancer 2, Kosta Morr

Kosta Morr

Painting . 30 x 21 x 1 cm Painting . 11.8 x 8.3 x 0.4 inch

€180

Painting, Dancer 5, Kosta Morr

Kosta Morr

Painting . 30 x 21 x 1 cm Painting . 11.8 x 8.3 x 0.4 inch

€180

Painting, Dancer 6, Kosta Morr

Kosta Morr

Painting . 30 x 21 x 1 cm Painting . 11.8 x 8.3 x 0.4 inch

€180

Painting, Dancer 7, Kosta Morr

Kosta Morr

Painting . 30 x 21 x 0.1 cm Painting . 11.8 x 8.3 x 0 inch

€180

Painting, Les Joueurs, Aurino Jottar

Aurino Jottar

Painting . 83 x 100 x 3 cm Painting . 32.7 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch

€3,550

Painting, La Tempête, Frank De Blok

Frank De Blok

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

€1,700

Painting, Porsche speed, Spaco

Spaco

Painting . 45 x 38 x 2 cm Painting . 17.7 x 15 x 0.8 inch

€330

Sculpture, Sacra bestias, Jen-chih Yu

Jen-chih Yu

Sculpture . 27.5 x 27.5 x 4.5 cm Sculpture . 10.8 x 10.8 x 1.8 inch

€1,200

Sculpture, Jordan, PyB

PyB

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

€250

Photography, Twins, Corinne Dubreuil

Corinne Dubreuil

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

€1,100

Print, Chantilly, Paul Ambille

Paul Ambille

Print . 37 x 37 cm Print . 14.6 x 14.6 inch

€75

Print, The Surfer, James Chiew

James Chiew

Print . 120 x 180 x 5 cm Print . 47.2 x 70.9 x 2 inch

€8,500

Photography, Jean-Pierre Rives, Mark Leech

Mark Leech

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

€2,500

Photography, Frères, Michel Birot

Michel Birot

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

€7,900

Photography, Tracks XVI, Bruno Charoy

Bruno Charoy

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

€800

Painting, Golf Rotation, Rumen Sazdov

Rumen Sazdov

Painting . 80 x 120 x 2 cm Painting . 31.5 x 47.2 x 0.8 inch

€11,500

Photography, For Degas, Katerina Belkina

Katerina Belkina

Photography . 120 x 84 cm Photography . 47.2 x 33.1 inch

€10,013

Sculpture, Discobole JO 2024, PyB

PyB

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

€250

Photography, Brasil 2, João Luiz Bulcão

João Luiz Bulcão

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

€660

Fine Art Drawings, Jungle Book, Patrick Villas

Patrick Villas

Fine Art Drawings . 145 x 127 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings . 57.1 x 50 x 0.4 inch

€7,200