The Olympic Games have sparked a series of exhibitions around Europe dedicated to their history and cultural significance.
Paris is currently hosting the Cultural Olympiad, which runs parallel to the games and features a stellar array of cultural events and art exhibitions.
But if you want to see Olympic-inspired art, there are also options outside the French capital.
The games have sparked a series of exhibitions around Europe dedicated to their history and cultural significance.
Here are our top picks of Paris’s offerings and those around Europe.
The Art of the Olympics: Paris, France
Gagosian’s Paris gallery has filled its two exhibition sites on Rue de Castiglione and Rue de Ponthieu with artworks of international renown centred on the theme of sport.
The Castiglione space’s display includes Andreas Gursky’s Amsterdam, Arena I (2000), a vast bird’s eye view photograph of a football game, a preparatory sketch for Christo’s giant 1974 sculpture Running Fence, and Man Ray’s playful Jeux Nocturnes (c. 1970) where a football is infused with the spirit of mystery.
The Ponthieu space presents famed poster designs for previous Olympics, like Rachel Whitehead’s coloured rings for London in 2012, David Hockney’s summery design for the 1972 Games in Munich and Cy Twombly’s frenetic scribbles for the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo.
The Art of the Olympics runs until 7 September.
Olympism: Modern Invention, Ancient Legacy: Paris, France
The Louvre is hosting an exhibition that returns to the revival story of the Olympics and the French creatives who were behind it.
The reinstatement of the ancient Greek sporting event was the brainchild of Pierre de Coubertin in 1894 while Michel Bréal, a French linguist, designed the first Olympic Cup for the marathon, a new event introduced to the Games in Athens in 1896.
“Visitors will discover how the Games came into being in the late 19th century: the political context of the time, the iconographic sources on which they were based, and how the organisers set out to recreate the sporting competitions of ancient Greece,” the curators write.”
Bréal’s trophy is on display in the exhibition alongside artworks and artefacts that trace the Greek-French history of the competition.
Olympism: Modern Invention, Ancient Legacy runs until 16 September.
Citius, Altius, Fortius – Communiter, Ancient and Modern Olympic Games: Zagreb, Croatia
The Croatian capital is hosting an exhibition dedicated to the ancient and modern games at the Zagreb Archeological Museum.
The show’s title is taken from the Olympic motto ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius – Communiter’ meaning ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together’.
The exhibits take visitors through the history of the Olympics from their inception in 776 BC with artefacts such as statues, posters, medals and sporting equipment.
“In the spirit of the phrase mens sana in corpore sano (a healthy mind in a healthy body), for those seeking inspiration, the exhibition offers a journey through history and highlights the lasting value of sports as a means for personal and social development,” the curators write.
“Therefore, we invite all athletes, amateurs, and professionals to explore the fascination of the Olympic Games and be inspired by their spirit.”
Citius, Altius, Fortius – Communiter, Ancient and Modern Olympic Games runs until 31 October.
Paris 1924: Sport, Art and the Body: Cambridge, UK
Timed to open a week before the 2024 Olympics, Paris 1924: Sport, Art and the Body showcases works by international artists inspired by the games a century ago.
Among the featured artists at the Fitzwilliam Museum’s exhibition are Pablo Picasso, Diego Rivera, Natalia Goncharova and Umberto Boccioni.
Their modernist art will be accompanied by displays of classical sculpture, 1924 Olympics posters and fashion from the Roaring Twenties.
A letter penned by US long jumper William DeHart Hubbard – who was the first black athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in an individual event – will also be exhibited.
The show will also touch on the Cultural Olympiad art competitions that were part of the Games between 1912 and 1948.
Paris 1924: Sport, Art and the Body runs until 3 November.
Muscles & Mind: Irish Art Olympians: Waterford, Ireland
Over in Ireland, a new show will exhibit works by artists who competed for their country during the Olympics between 1924 and 1948, while art was an Olympic discipline.
Muscles & Mind: Irish Art Olympians will open on 26 July to coincide with the Paris Games.
Housed in the Waterford Gallery of Art, the exhibition will feature some of Ireland’s most celebrated artists who represented their country including Jack B Yeats, Letitia Hamilton, Mainie Jellett, Seán Keating, Flora Vere O’Brien and Sir John Lavery.
The curators say they want the show to highlight the importance of art as an Olympic discipline and what it means to represent your country as an artist.
Muscles & Mind: Irish Art Olympians runs until 26 November.
