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, Elan, Yevgeniy Repiashenko

Yevgeniy Repiashenko

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

€3,700

Photography, Fuyons, Pierre Moreau

Pierre Moreau

Photography . 50 x 75 x 0.1 cm Photography . 19.7 x 29.5 x 0 inch

€1,900

Painting, Mats Sundin, Stephen Holland

Stephen Holland

Painting . 142.2 x 101.6 x 5.1 cm Painting . 56 x 40 x 2 inch

€6,867

Painting, Finn, Alain Abramatic

Alain Abramatic

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

€2,360

Painting, Game over, Baptiste Laurent

Baptiste Laurent

Painting . 105 x 105 x 0.3 cm Painting . 41.3 x 41.3 x 0.1 inch

€950

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

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, Ballerina, Martina Hamrik

Martina Hamrik

Painting . 150 x 115 x 6 cm Painting . 59.1 x 45.3 x 2.4 inch

€4,200

Photography, Droit au but, Vanille Gill ann

Vanille Gill ann

Photography . 35 x 62 x 0.01 cm Photography . 13.8 x 24.4 x 0 inch

€950

Photography, Arnold Palmer, Gerry Cranham

Gerry Cranham

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

€1,500

Painting, Paris, Maxime Andriot

Maxime Andriot

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

€760

Photography, Turn, Gerry Cranham

Gerry Cranham

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

€1,650

Sculpture, Serge, Sophie Inard

Sophie Inard

Sculpture . 23 x 33 x 27 cm Sculpture . 9.1 x 13 x 10.6 inch

€2,760

Print, Efflorescence, Maude Ovize

Maude Ovize

Print . 49 x 70 x 0.1 cm Print . 19.3 x 27.6 x 0 inch

€300

Photography, By My Side 2, Antoine Rose

Antoine Rose

Photography . 35 x 35 x 0.5 cm Photography . 13.8 x 13.8 x 0.2 inch

€1,100

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, The grey Mustang, Pappay

Pappay

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

€880

Photography, Mystique, Eric Lalmand

Eric Lalmand

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

€1,000

Painting, Resilience, Seromo Okoro

Seromo Okoro

Painting . 61 x 50.8 x 2.5 cm Painting . 24 x 20 x 1 inch

€632

Photography, Bleu, Antoine Buttafoghi

Antoine Buttafoghi

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

€1,400

Print, Lebron James, Alberto Ricardo

Alberto Ricardo

Print . 70 x 65 x 5 cm Print . 27.6 x 25.6 x 2 inch

€169 €153

Painting, Table tennis, Roman Durcek

Roman Durcek

Painting . 50 x 50 x 1 cm Painting . 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch

€3,200

Fine Art Drawings, Untitled, Joan Albert

Joan Albert

Fine Art Drawings . 44 x 47 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings . 17.3 x 18.5 x 0 inch

€600

Photography, Caveman, Christophe Paucelier

Christophe Paucelier

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

€950

Photography, Ecosse, Isabelle Picarel

Isabelle Picarel

Photography . 53 x 80 x 1 cm Photography . 20.9 x 31.5 x 0.4 inch

€1,300

Photography, Roger (4), Corinne Dubreuil

Corinne Dubreuil

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

€1,100

Photography, Imsouane, Rodrigo

Rodrigo

Photography . 25.4 x 19.1 x 0.1 cm Photography . 10 x 7.5 x 0 inch

€1,250

Photography, King Eric, Mark Leech

Mark Leech

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

€930

Painting, Tennis player, Roman Durcek

Roman Durcek

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

€3,200

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

Print, Voluntas, Sam3

Sam3

Print . 49 x 78 cm Print . 19.3 x 30.7 inch

€220

Photography, Source, Michel Birot

Michel Birot

Photography . 40 x 107 x 0.1 cm Photography . 15.7 x 42.1 x 0 inch

€1,500

Painting, Wind, Galya Popova

Galya Popova

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

€1,440

Photography, Highbury, Gerry Cranham

Gerry Cranham

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

€3,300

Painting, Buuuuuuut, Alfa'B

Alfa'B

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

€250 €200

Painting, Bicycle Path, Klimenko Olena

Klimenko Olena

Painting . 56 x 39 x 2 cm Painting . 22 x 15.4 x 0.8 inch

€500

Sculpture, Narturo, Manuel Mediavilla

Manuel Mediavilla

Sculpture . 33 x 20 x 12 cm Sculpture . 13 x 7.9 x 4.7 inch

€4,180

Photography, Rise, Yevgeniy Repiashenko

Yevgeniy Repiashenko

Photography . 91 x 91 x 0.1 cm Photography . 35.8 x 35.8 x 0 inch

€1,475

Print, Untitled, Mario Bedini

Mario Bedini

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

€400

Photography, Strike, Rodrigo

Rodrigo

Photography . 27.1 x 35.1 x 0.1 cm Photography . 10.7 x 13.8 x 0 inch

€1,599

Discover other selections of artworks

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