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, 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

Painting, Jordan, Mr Cute

Mr Cute

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

€1,299

Fine Art Drawings, Untitled, Patrick Villas

Patrick Villas

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

€1,200

Painting, Kylie, Philippe Niago

Philippe Niago

Painting . 120 x 80 x 2.7 cm Painting . 47.2 x 31.5 x 1.1 inch

€2,500

Painting, Mats Sundin, Stephen Holland

Stephen Holland

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

€6,948

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

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, Tracks V, Bruno Charoy

Bruno Charoy

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

€800 €720

Photography, Bertrand de Broc, Maud Bernos

Maud Bernos

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

€3,000

Painting, Jethou, Alain Abramatic

Alain Abramatic

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

€1,260

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, Victory Charge, Godfrey Afebuame

Godfrey Afebuame

Painting . 101.6 x 76.2 x 2.5 cm Painting . 40 x 30 x 1 inch

€2,286 €1,943

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 €1,350

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, 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

Sculpture, Serge, Sophie Inard

Sophie Inard

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

€2,760

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

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

Photography, Bleu, Antoine Buttafoghi

Antoine Buttafoghi

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

€1,400

Print, Muhammad Ali, Ronnie Wood

Ronnie Wood

Print . 72.4 x 54.6 cm Print . 28.5 x 21.5 inch

€8,228

Painting, Resilience, Seromo Okoro

Seromo Okoro

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

€640

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, 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 €990

Photography, Caveman, Christophe Paucelier

Christophe Paucelier

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

€950

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

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, King Eric, Mark Leech

Mark Leech

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

€930 €837

Photography, In our out ?, Marcus Cederberg

Marcus Cederberg

Photography . 70 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography . 27.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch

€200

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

Print, Voluntas, Sam3

Sam3

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

€220

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, Source, Michel Birot

Michel Birot

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

€1,500

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 €2,970

Painting, La Revanche, Clara Breuil

Clara Breuil

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

€4,000

Photography, Imsouane, Rodrigo

Rodrigo

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

€1,250