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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Print, S is for Sumo, Peter Blake

Peter Blake

Print . 102.5 x 77 x 0.1 cm Print . 40.4 x 30.3 x 0 inch

€3,000

Painting, Rugby 4, Arno Lanzi

Arno Lanzi

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

€850

Photography, Mini 66, LAT Archives

LAT Archives

Photography . 80 x 107 x 2 cm Photography . 31.5 x 42.1 x 0.8 inch

€1,700

Painting, Euhhh, Tristan Wu

Tristan Wu

Painting . 70 x 50 x 0.2 cm Painting . 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch

€580

Sculpture, End Zone, Mitch Richmond

Mitch Richmond

Sculpture . 17 x 17 x 27 cm Sculpture . 6.7 x 6.7 x 10.6 inch

€690

Photography, Anissa, Gérard Uféras

Gérard Uféras

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

€1,800

Painting, Rugby 2, Arno Lanzi

Arno Lanzi

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

€850

Painting, Enfants, Talon

Talon

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

€600

Sculpture, N°204, Mario Dilitz

Mario Dilitz

Sculpture . 210 x 70 x 45 cm Sculpture . 82.7 x 27.6 x 17.7 inch

€76,000

Photography, Maquettes, LAT Archives

LAT Archives

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

€1,850

Print, Wall of Death, Peter Doig

Peter Doig

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

€7,000

Painting, Perast, Alexander Shandor

Alexander Shandor

Painting . 80 x 100 x 2 cm Painting . 31.5 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

€5,449

Painting, Mirrors,, Roman Rembovsky

Roman Rembovsky

Painting . 50 x 59.9 x 2 cm Painting . 19.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch

€2,223

Painting, Kooo, Tristan Wu

Tristan Wu

Painting . 70 x 50 x 0.2 cm Painting . 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch

€580

Painting, A golf player, Pol Ledent

Pol Ledent

Painting . 70 x 60 x 2 cm Painting . 27.6 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch

€900

Painting, Benzema, PyB

PyB

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

€190

Photography, Bolchoi I, Gérard Uféras

Gérard Uféras

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

€1,500

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, Borg II, Gerry Cranham

Gerry Cranham

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

€900

Photography, Roger (8), Corinne Dubreuil

Corinne Dubreuil

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

€1,100

Photography, Retrouvailles, Mark Leech

Mark Leech

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

€930

Photography, Soweto, Thomas Hoeffgen

Thomas Hoeffgen

Photography . 40 x 54 x 0.1 cm Photography . 15.7 x 21.3 x 0 inch

€2,500

Photography, Samoa, Michel Birot

Michel Birot

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

€3,300

Painting, Air Jordan Shoot, Art H.M

Art H.M

Painting . 150 x 95 x 2.5 cm Painting . 59.1 x 37.4 x 1 inch

€1,200

Print, Golf 3, Franco Costa

Franco Costa

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

€300

Print, D1-2 Couloir 2, Peter Doig

Peter Doig

Print . 114 x 80 x 0.01 cm Print . 44.9 x 31.5 x 0 inch

€13,400

Painting, Small waves, Peter de Boer

Peter de Boer

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

€1,380

Painting, Surprise me, Erik Jan Kremer

Erik Jan Kremer

Painting . 120 x 170 x 2 cm Painting . 47.2 x 66.9 x 0.8 inch

€5,000

Painting, Marathon 4, Arno Lanzi

Arno Lanzi

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

€2,500

Painting, Oil Team, Irakli Chikovani

Irakli Chikovani

Painting . 110 x 130 x 3 cm Painting . 43.3 x 51.2 x 1.2 inch

€2,400

Photography, Spurs, Gerry Cranham

Gerry Cranham

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

€900

Painting, Vers l'arrivée, Kalus

Kalus

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

€250

Photography, Skulls, Hugh Turvey

Hugh Turvey

Photography . 60 x 120 cm Photography . 23.6 x 47.2 inch

€2,164