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, Mickey bulls, Jug

Jug

Painting . 97 x 162 x 4 cm Painting . 38.2 x 63.8 x 1.6 inch

€1,500

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

€1,200

Painting, Rugby 16, Arno Lanzi

Arno Lanzi

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

€340

Photography, Start 68, LAT Archives

LAT Archives

Photography . 60 x 90 x 4 cm Photography . 23.6 x 35.4 x 1.6 inch

€790

Painting, Love is all, Michael Viviani

Michael Viviani

Painting . 80 x 80 x 3 cm Painting . 31.5 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch

€4,500

Painting, Swimming # 4, Pascal Marlin

Pascal Marlin

Painting . 15 x 15 x 0.1 cm Painting . 5.9 x 5.9 x 0 inch

€100

Photography, Roger II, Corinne Dubreuil

Corinne Dubreuil

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

€1,100

Print, Polo, Victor Spahn

Victor Spahn

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

€220

Photography, Stirling Boss, LAT Archives

LAT Archives

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

€690

Photography, Ski Bus, Toni Frissell

Toni Frissell

Photography . 101 x 101 cm Photography . 39.8 x 39.8 inch

€2,500

Painting, S. Chabal, Remi Bertoche

Remi Bertoche

Painting . 100 x 100 x 5 cm Painting . 39.4 x 39.4 x 2 inch

€12,300

Photography, Quatrefoil, Tyler Shields

Tyler Shields

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

€4,558

Print, Show Jumping, Victor Spahn

Victor Spahn

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

€220

Painting, Rugby 15, Arno Lanzi

Arno Lanzi

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

€340

Photography, 24h du Mans, Jacques Violet

Jacques Violet

Photography . 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography . 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch

€400

Photography, Splash!, Richard Dunkley

Richard Dunkley

Photography . 76.2 x 50.8 cm Photography . 30 x 20 inch

€392

Photography, Le Volleyeur, Julie Peiffer

Julie Peiffer

Photography . 50 x 50 x 0.04 cm Photography . 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch

€600

Painting, FRA 123, Raymond Poulet

Raymond Poulet

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

€4,600

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

€3,000

Print, Tennis, Fifo Stricker

Fifo Stricker

Print . 59 x 39 x 0.1 cm Print . 23.2 x 15.4 x 0 inch

€540

Fine Art Drawings, Untitled, Francesc Genovés

Francesc Genovés

Fine Art Drawings . 65 x 50 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings . 25.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch

€555

Painting, Rugby 14, Arno Lanzi

Arno Lanzi

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

€340

Print, Diego Maradona, Ysy

Ysy

Print . 40 x 40 x 1 cm Print . 15.7 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch

€380

Photography, Gurney Clark, LAT Archives

LAT Archives

Photography . 45 x 45 x 2 cm Photography . 17.7 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch

€590

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