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... 

Read more
Photography, Elan, Yevgeniy Repiashenko

Yevgeniy Repiashenko

Photography . 100 x 100 x 3 cm Photography . 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch

€3,700

Print, Dreams, Dieter Roth

Dieter Roth

Print . 75 x 63 x 1 cm Print . 29.5 x 24.8 x 0.4 inch

€980

Painting, Mar, Ana Patitú

Mar

Ana Patitú

Painting . 46 x 55 x 1.8 cm Painting . 18.1 x 21.7 x 0.7 inch

€1,000

Photography, Plongeurs, Elisa Haberer

Elisa Haberer

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

€1,800

Painting, Skate, Stéphane Cantin

Stéphane Cantin

Painting . 40 x 50 x 2 cm Painting . 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch

€300

Photography, Abuja, Thomas Hoeffgen

Thomas Hoeffgen

Photography . 42 x 112 x 5 cm Photography . 16.5 x 44.1 x 2 inch

€2,200

Print, Diversions, Jeffrey Isaac

Jeffrey Isaac

Print . 94.5 x 70 x 0.2 cm Print . 37.2 x 27.6 x 0.1 inch

€600

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

Painting, Ballerina, Martina Hamrik

Martina Hamrik

Painting . 120 x 160 x 6 cm Painting . 47.2 x 63 x 2.4 inch

€4,500

Photography, Untitled, Chema Madoz

Chema Madoz

Photography . 60 x 50 cm Photography . 23.6 x 19.7 inch

€6,150

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

Print, Untitled, Ernst Fuchs

Ernst Fuchs

Print . 29 x 28 x 1 cm Print . 11.4 x 11 x 0.4 inch

€2,242

Painting, Paris, Maxime Andriot

Maxime Andriot

Painting . 73 x 92 x 3 cm Painting . 28.7 x 36.2 x 1.2 inch

€760

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, Jeanne, Sophie Inard

Sophie Inard

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

€1,560

Print, El Festejo, Aryz

Aryz

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

€1,400

Photography, Khalid (Sinouh), Erwin Olaf

Erwin Olaf

Photography . 118.5 x 84 x 3 cm Photography . 46.7 x 33.1 x 1.2 inch

€9,000

Painting, New York Giants, Botero Pop

Botero Pop

Painting . 20.3 x 30.5 x 0.3 cm Painting . 8 x 12 x 0.1 inch

€350

Photography, Home Run, Nir Hadar

Nir Hadar

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

€3,139

Photography, Kito de Pavant, Maud Bernos

Maud Bernos

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

€3,000

Fine Art Drawings, Untitled, Joaquín Xaudaró

Joaquín Xaudaró

Fine Art Drawings . 16 x 11 cm Fine Art Drawings . 6.3 x 4.3 inch

€1,300

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

Painting, Buuuuuuut, Alfa'B

Alfa'B

Painting . 50 x 50 x 4 cm Painting . 19.7 x 19.7 x 1.6 inch

€250

Photography, First one, Isabelle Picarel

Isabelle Picarel

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

€790

Painting, Art attack, Pegaz

Pegaz

Painting . 81 x 100 x 3 cm Painting . 31.9 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch

€2,000

Painting, Compétition, Sylvie Eudes

Sylvie Eudes

Painting . 30 x 30 x 2 cm Painting . 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch

€1,100

Photography, Ascension, Bilal Aouffen

Bilal Aouffen

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

€1,400

Photography, Le lutteur, Chiara Dazi

Chiara Dazi

Photography . 60 x 60 cm Photography . 23.6 x 23.6 inch

€1,000

Photography, Lieutenant, Mark Leech

Mark Leech

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

€930

Print, Marqui Hors série, C215

C215

Print . 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Print . 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch

€690

Sculpture, Home run, Mitch Richmond

Mitch Richmond

Sculpture . 80 x 6 x 6 cm Sculpture . 31.5 x 2.4 x 2.4 inch

€750

Painting, Les baigneuses, Marine Walon

Marine Walon

Painting . 58 x 81 x 2 cm Painting . 22.8 x 31.9 x 0.8 inch

€1,600

Photography, Lagos, Thomas Hoeffgen

Thomas Hoeffgen

Photography . 41 x 104 x 0.1 cm Photography . 16.1 x 40.9 x 0 inch

€2,000

Photography, Hand I, Laurent Gudin

Laurent Gudin

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

€1,600

Photography, Mêlée III, Michel Birot

Michel Birot

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

€1,750