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, L'Animal, Pascal Perrin

Pascal Perrin

Painting . 80 x 100 x 4 cm Painting . 31.5 x 39.4 x 1.6 inch

€5,000

Print, Laser Fun, Alan Kingsland

Alan Kingsland

Print . 55.9 x 72.4 x 1.3 cm Print . 22 x 28.5 x 0.5 inch

€632

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, Strength, Seromo Okoro

Seromo Okoro

Painting . 50.8 x 40.6 x 2.5 cm Painting . 20 x 16 x 1 inch

€451

Painting, The fight of Legends, Artwhos

Artwhos

Painting . 50 x 100 x 0.2 cm Painting . 19.7 x 39.4 x 0.1 inch

€1,349

Photography, JPR vs JPR, Gerry Cranham

Gerry Cranham

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

€1,900

Painting, Underwater, Simona Tsvetkova

Simona Tsvetkova

Painting . 50 x 100 x 2 cm Painting . 19.7 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

€1,750

Photography, Lamb 2, Laurent Gudin

Laurent Gudin

Photography . 80 x 80 x 0.2 cm Photography . 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.1 inch

€2,750

Painting, Winters dawn, Ben Labarthe

Ben Labarthe

Painting . 100 x 73 x 2.5 cm Painting . 39.4 x 28.7 x 1 inch

€4,500

Photography, Hauraki, Patrick Gripe

Patrick Gripe

Photography . 40 x 60 x 3 cm Photography . 15.7 x 23.6 x 1.2 inch

€2,900

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, 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, A. Dupont, Remi Bertoche

Remi Bertoche

Painting . 100 x 80 x 5 cm Painting . 39.4 x 31.5 x 2 inch

€9,000

Painting, La loma, Chicho

Chicho

Painting . 100 x 70 x 3 cm Painting . 39.4 x 27.6 x 1.2 inch

€2,600

Print, Evanescence, Maude Ovize

Maude Ovize

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

€300

Print, Jet Set, Peter Doig

Peter Doig

Print . 35.6 x 30.5 x 1 cm Print . 14 x 12 x 0.4 inch

€5,500

Photography, Ferrari Clock 63, LAT Archives

LAT Archives

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

€1,450

Painting, Lizhnyk, Robert Saller

Robert Saller

Painting . 120 x 120 x 2 cm Painting . 47.2 x 47.2 x 0.8 inch

€4,900

Print, Mats, Stephen Holland

Stephen Holland

Print . 61 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Print . 24 x 16 x 2 inch

€542

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

Painting, Champions #1, Mic Staib

Mic Staib

Painting . 120 x 160 x 3.7 cm Painting . 47.2 x 63 x 1.5 inch

€4,750

Print, Variation, Maude Ovize

Maude Ovize

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

€300

Painting, Sunset Regatta, Kosta Morr

Kosta Morr

Painting . 60 x 80 x 2 cm Painting . 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch

€800

Photography, Dunk, Rodrigo

Rodrigo

Photography . 23.1 x 35.6 x 0.1 cm Photography . 9.1 x 14 x 0 inch

€2,999

Painting, Jordan 1, Luc Abalo

Luc Abalo

Painting . 200 x 130 x 5 cm Painting . 78.7 x 51.2 x 2 inch

€10,000

Print, The JumpKaws - EA, Ske

Ske

Print . 59.4 x 42 x 0.1 cm Print . 23.4 x 16.5 x 0 inch

€175

Photography, Anissa, Gérard Uféras

Gérard Uféras

Photography . 40 x 50 cm Photography . 15.7 x 19.7 inch

€1,800

Painting, Tennis, Kosta Morr

Kosta Morr

Painting . 60 x 80 x 3 cm Painting . 23.6 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch

€900

Painting, Rugby 6, Arno Lanzi

Arno Lanzi

Painting . 73 x 54 x 1 cm Painting . 28.7 x 21.3 x 0.4 inch

€850

Fine Art Drawings, Riding life, Manon Gribouille

Manon Gribouille

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

€200

Discover other selections of artworks

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Master Artists

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