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, Lancement, Aurino Jottar

Aurino Jottar

Painting . 60 x 35 x 3 cm Painting . 23.6 x 13.8 x 1.2 inch

€2,500

Painting, Winnie, Artwhos

Artwhos

Painting . 50 x 40 x 0.2 cm Painting . 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch

€1,379

Photography, L'attente, Olivier Morin

Olivier Morin

Photography . 76 x 115 x 1 cm Photography . 29.9 x 45.3 x 0.4 inch

€950

Painting, Athlétisme 10, Arno Lanzi

Arno Lanzi

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

€1,400

Photography, Foot de rue, Uwe Ommer

Uwe Ommer

Photography . 40 x 48 x 0.1 cm Photography . 15.7 x 18.9 x 0 inch

€990

Painting, West Coast, Ian Leventhal

Ian Leventhal

Painting . 16.5 x 20.3 x 5.1 cm Painting . 6.5 x 8 x 2 inch

€1,206

Sculpture, Untitled, Segundo Gutiérrez

Segundo Gutiérrez

Sculpture . 43 x 50 x 8.5 cm Sculpture . 16.9 x 19.7 x 3.3 inch

€3,333

Painting, Mind the gap, Otto Schade

Otto Schade

Painting . 60 x 60 x 4 cm Painting . 23.6 x 23.6 x 1.6 inch

€1,550

Photography, Tchernobyl, Guillaume Herbaut

Guillaume Herbaut

Photography . 60 x 75 x 0.1 cm Photography . 23.6 x 29.5 x 0 inch

€2,950

Fine Art Drawings, Scène de corrida, Yves Brayer

Yves Brayer

Fine Art Drawings . 23 x 32 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings . 9.1 x 12.6 x 0.4 inch

€1,300

Sculpture, Challenge (Red), Mark Sugar

Mark Sugar

Sculpture . 41 x 23 x 22 cm Sculpture . 16.1 x 9.1 x 8.7 inch

€750

Photography, Sir Alex, Mark Leech

Mark Leech

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

€700

Painting, Galop, Ahmed Shahabuddin

Ahmed Shahabuddin

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

€5,500

Print, El Festejo, Aryz

Aryz

Print . 100 x 70 cm Print . 39.4 x 27.6 inch

€1,400

Photography, Muhammad Ali, Flip Schulke

Flip Schulke

Photography . 40 x 30 x 1 cm Photography . 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch

€7,500

Photography, Silhouettes, Lionel Hahn

Lionel Hahn

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

€990

Painting, Oceano, Roberta Pinna

Roberta Pinna

Painting . 30.5 x 20.3 x 0.8 cm Painting . 12 x 8 x 0.3 inch

€1,340

Painting, Bullfight, Benavente Solis

Benavente Solis

Painting . 35 x 41 x 1 cm Painting . 13.8 x 16.1 x 0.4 inch

€2,000

Sculpture, Jeanne, Sophie Inard

Sophie Inard

Sculpture . 57 x 26 x 4 cm Sculpture . 22.4 x 10.2 x 1.6 inch

€1,560

Painting, Voile Jaune, Alain Abramatic

Alain Abramatic

Painting . 80 x 40 x 3 cm Painting . 31.5 x 15.7 x 1.2 inch

€1,260

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

€3,800

Sculpture, Traverser, Antoine Savigneux

Antoine Savigneux

Sculpture . 11 x 35 x 8.5 cm Sculpture . 4.3 x 13.8 x 3.3 inch

€1,600

Photography, Chapman, LAT Archives

LAT Archives

Photography . 60 x 90 x 2 cm Photography . 23.6 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch

€990

Photography, L'Envol, Mark Lloyd

Mark Lloyd

Photography . 60 x 90 x 2 cm Photography . 23.6 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch

€990

Painting, Pojukx, Remix

Remix

Painting . 39 x 37 x 3 cm Painting . 15.4 x 14.6 x 1.2 inch

€590

Photography, Men II, Michel Birot

Michel Birot

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

€1,190

Painting, Boum, Onemizer

Onemizer

Painting . 130 x 97 x 2 cm Painting . 51.2 x 38.2 x 0.8 inch

€14,900

Photography, Sacré cœur, Bilal Aouffen

Bilal Aouffen

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

€1,000

Painting, Eloquent fight, Isaac Maimon

Isaac Maimon

Painting . 70 x 90 x 2 cm Painting . 27.6 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch

€2,023

Painting, Athlétisme 8, Arno Lanzi

Arno Lanzi

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

€1,400

Sculpture, Porsche 911, Edu Danesi

Edu Danesi

Sculpture . 76 x 28 x 18 cm Sculpture . 29.9 x 11 x 7.1 inch

€5,400

Painting, Handball, Stéphane Cantin

Stéphane Cantin

Painting . 61 x 50 x 1.5 cm Painting . 24 x 19.7 x 0.6 inch

€400

Photography, Jougs, Laurent Troude

Laurent Troude

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

€1,150

Photography, Sept d'or, Eliot Blondet

Eliot Blondet

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

€1,950

Print, Swing, Paul Ambille

Paul Ambille

Print . 60 x 45 cm Print . 23.6 x 17.7 inch

€100

Photography, Boxe, Sophie Inard

Sophie Inard

Photography . 23.5 x 33.5 cm Photography . 9.3 x 13.2 inch

€600

Painting, Set, Pascal Astier

Set

Pascal Astier

Painting . 60 x 60 x 3.5 cm Painting . 23.6 x 23.6 x 1.4 inch

€1,200

Painting, Greg, Nicolas Curmer

Nicolas Curmer

Painting . 65 x 81 x 4 cm Painting . 25.6 x 31.9 x 1.6 inch

€1,800

Discover other selections of artworks

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