Watching the Olympics ... Pondering SPORT shown in Art

Competition is a natural part of human existence (and in the animal kingdom too). I am enjoying watching the "Games of the 30th Modern Olympiad" on NBC right now and started to think about images of sport and athleticism that have been shown in art in the past. Granted, current images from covers of Sports Illustrated, Time Magazine, and Wheaties Cereal come to mind; but I was thinking back to the HISTORY of the Olympics.

One of the first instances of sport I think of is the relief carving of Ashurbanipal Hunting Lions, from palace complex of Ashurbanipal, Nineveh. (Image Below)

The ANCIENT OLYMPICS are thought to have started in 776 BCE. The Greek culture produced sculpture that showed the people's admiration for the youthful, athletic male form. Seated Boxer is an image that comes to mind from the ancient Greek culture. It captures a moment where an athlete is waiting for his results. This is not a moment of competition, rather a moment of waiting POST competition. (image below) The TV screen captures this moment as male and female gymnasts await results in each of the events. The LIVE tension is evident on the current Olympians' faces. The tension and physical exertion are evident in the ancient sculpture. The Blanton Museum on the campus of the University of Texas Austin has a collection of plaster casts of Greek sculptures. Look through the many examples of athleticism shown in these models.

Impressionists like Degas depicted preparation for sport in his images of dancers and dance rehearsals. His 1789 painting, the Dance Lesson is a horizontal composition showing the different activities that consume the dancers as they improve their techniques (image below)

. We see conversations among dancers, frustration in a lone dancer with her face in her hands, and concentration in a group of people in the background. The preparation for competition or recital is evident. This painting and more by Degas can be seen at the newly reopened French Galleries at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

The George Bellows exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC (now through October 8, 2012) contains many images of men engaged in sport. Numerous scenes depict boxers in New York City, at a time when public boxing was illegal. An athlete himself, Bellows decided to give a public view to the sport that had to go "underground". He kept the sport alive in the manner in which he was able.