The Fighters (1850/1881) by Italian AnonymousMuseo Soumaya.Fundación Carlos Slim
Man and art through time
As our understanding of our own humanity has evolved, so has the way art captures the magic and spirit of sports.
Immortalized in stone
Pietro Bazzanti, with his work 'The Wrestlers,' immortalized the essence of sport and man in stone through a naturalistic artistic representation that captures the true being of athletes and their physical effort.
Artistic splendor
Bazzanti masterfully captured an eternal moment, perfectly showcasing the physique of the wrestlers and paying homage to the beauty of the human body.
The American Athlete (1901/1904) by Auguste RodinMuseo Soumaya.Fundación Carlos Slim
Impressionism in bronze
Naturalism is not the only artistic approach that has been adopted when portraying sports. With his impressionist style, Auguste Rodin managed to extraordinarily capture the essence of an athlete in bronze, almost half a century after Bazzanti.
The calm before the storm
In contrast to the wrestlers, 'The Athlete' by Auguste Rodin captures the athlete in a moment of calm, resting on a bench. The impressionist style of layering material in the sculpture reflects the construction of a perfect body, a union between art and sport.
Art and sports
This magnificent sculpture was inspired by the physique of the athlete Samuel Stockton White III, who won the Sandow medal in 1899, awarded to the strongest and most perfectly developed man in the United Kingdom.
Baseball (1968/1970) by Luis AméndollaMuseo Soumaya.Fundación Carlos Slim
Impressionism in motion
Team sports are captured in artistic representations that create a mosaic of diverse unique moments, recreating a story within the frame.
Moments that make history
Unlike naturalism, the beauty of impressionism becomes more evident the further we are from the work to appreciate it.
The drama of baseball
In his work 'Baseball,' Luis Améndolla captures one of the tensest moments of any game: a throw to first base. In contrast to the aesthetics of Bazzanti and Rodin, who capture stoic moments, this painting conveys movement and inertia.
Basketball (1968/1970) by Luis AméndollaMuseo Soumaya.Fundación Carlos Slim
Momentary realism
Améndolla seeks to capture the realism of the sport, not through the physical perfection of the athletes, but by portraying the moments that turn sports into myth and its players into legends.
Soccer (1964) by Luis AméndollaMuseo Soumaya.Fundación Carlos Slim
Sporting illusions
Sporting legends do not exist without their fans. It is their devotion, dreams, emotions, and tears that ignite the passion for sport. In this work, Améndolla shows us the strength of a dream.<br><br>
1970 World Championship in Mexico (1971)Museo Soumaya.Fundación Carlos Slim
The legacy
The greatness of sport lies in the moments that define it. This work, created to celebrate the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, seeks to immortalize a moment, just like Bazzanti's sculpture.
Expression and realism
This work has a more naturalistic tint than Améndolla's aesthetic. However, it seeks to capture the athlete's internal struggle in the facial expressions.
Soccer (1970) by Demetrio Llordén FernándezMuseo Soumaya.Fundación Carlos Slim
A date with history
This work forever commemorates the spirit and heart of the Brazilian team that won the 1970 World Cup.
Strikeout was Struck out (1970) by Luis AméndollaMuseo Soumaya.Fundación Carlos Slim
Caricature
Not everything in sports is about epic moments and displays of physical splendor. Sports are also the subject of laughter and comical situations that are rarely immortalized.
The mundane
In the work 'Ponchador Ponchado' ('Strikeout Pitcher Struck Out'), Luis Améndolla humorously explores a tragedy that could happen to any pitcher.
Baseball (1968/1970) by Luis AméndollaMuseo Soumaya.Fundación Carlos Slim
Comradeship and expression
This work captures the intense emotions that sports evoke in athletes, portraying the debates and conflicts common among opponents and teammates.
Baseball (1968/1970) by Luis AméndollaMuseo Soumaya.Fundación Carlos Slim
Art and sports
Art and sports are two forms of human expression that exist in perfect harmony. Together they capture epic and mundane moments, intense emotions, and the passion of a culture, immortalizing in works the moments that make humans extraordinary.
This story was created with information and images from Museo Soumaya.
