25 Sports Images That Accidentally Recreated Famous Works of Art

There is an old, tired saying that goes something like, "Art reflects life." However, sometimes the opposite is true as well. Sometimes life has a way of reflecting art back at us, even in the most unexpected of places. Sports, for example, might seem like the total opposite of fine art; they are messy, chaotic, and filled with raw energy. Yet, when frozen on the right frame, the movement, symmetry, and emotion of athletes in action can look weirdly similar to the brushstrokes of history's greatest painters.

Think about it: the contorted body of a tennis player mid-serve could easily echo a Renaissance fresco. A perfectly-timed basketball dunk has the same drama and grandeur of a Baroque masterpiece. Even the chaos of a soccer field can have the same visual and energetic rhythm as a piece of abstract art. Intentional or not, these side-by-side pictures and paintings remind us that art isn't just for galleries and museums; art is alive all around us, even on the field, the court, or the track.

Back in high schooles, athletes and art kids might not have run in the same circles, but it turns out they were connected all along. These 25 sports snapshots pove that that the world of competition and the world of creativity aren't so different after all.

Author image for Ely Bulnes Ely Bulnes
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  • 01

    Saint George and the Dragon by Bernat Martorell (1434-35), photo by Micharl Dawson

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    via @artbutmakeitsports
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  • 02

    The Uncertainty of the Poet by Giorgio de Chirico (1913)

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    via @artbutmakeitsports
  • 03

    Le Disque Blanc by Frantisek Kupka (1950), photo by Adam Hagy

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    via @artbutmakeitsports
  • 04

    Cupid and Psyche by Benjamin West (1808)

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    via @artbutmakeitsports
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  • 05

    Synchromy in Blue by Stanton Macdonald-Wright (1916), photo via @643studio

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    via @artbutmakeitsports
  • 06

    The Visit by Marie Laurencin (1916)

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    via @artbutmakeitsports
  • 07

    Howling Wolf (Waterdog) (500-200 BCE), photo by Nick Ieradi

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    via @artbutmakeitsports
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  • 08

    The Flight of Moloch by William Blake (1815)

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    via @artbutmakeitsports
  • 09

    David Slays Goliath by Gustave Dore (1866), photo by Rich Lam

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    via @artbutmakeitsports
  • 10

    View of Lyse Abbey near Bergen by Johan Dahl (1826)

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    via @artbutmakeitsports
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  • 11

    La reproduction interdite by Rene Magritte (1937), photo via Bleacher Report

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    via @artbutmakeitsports
  • 12

    D'Apres Personnage de theatre by Aleksandra Ekster (early 20th century), photo by Antoine Couvercelle

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    via @artbutmakeitsports
  • 13

    The Circus (flipped) by Charles Demuth (1917), photo by Junfu Han

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    via @artbutmakeitsports
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  • 14

    Men and Machine by Stuart Davis (1934), photo by Nick Ieradi

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    via @artbutmakeitsports
  • 15

    The Falling Angel by Marc Chagall (1923-47), photo by Nathan Ray Seebeck

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    via @artbutmakeitsports
  • 16

    The Fall of Icarus (rotated) by Merry-Joseph Blondel (1819), photo by Luiza Moraes

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    via @artbutmakeitsports
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  • 17

    Mephisto by Joaquin Espalter y Rull (1872), photo by Stu Forster

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    via @artbutmakeitsports
  • 18

    The Massacre of the Innocents by Francois Joseph Navez (1824), photo by Lindsey Wasson

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    via @artbutmakeitsports
  • 19

    The Monkey Prince Angada delivers Rama's message to Ravana by Manaku (1725), photo by Steph Anderson Chambers

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  • 20

    Saul and the Witch of Endor by William Sidney Mount (1828), photo by Eakin Howard

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    via @artbutmakeitsports
  • 21

    Saint George and the Dragon by Jacopo Tintoretto (1555), photo by Scott Bowers

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    via @artbutmakeitsports
  • 22

    La robe ensanglantee de Joseph apportee a Jacob by Francois-Joseph Heim (1817), photo by Miguel Medina

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  • 23

    The Expulsion of the Money-Changers by Master of the Kress Epiphany (15th century), photo by Andy Buchanan

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    via @artbutmakeitsports
  • 24

    Descent into H*** by Duccio (1308-11), photo by Noe Llamas

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    via @artbutmakeitsports
  • 25

    First part of the prose novel Lancelot du Lac (14th century), photo by Charly Lopez

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  • 26

    The Swan No. 24 Group IX by Hilma af Klint (1914), photo by @artbutmakeitsports

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    via @artbutmakeitsports
  • 27

    Anxious Red Painting Sep 24th by Rashid Johnson (2020), photo by Steph Anderson Chambers

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    via @artbutmakeitsports
  • 28

    Untitled (rotated) by Perle Fine (1959), photo by Jeff Haynes

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    via @artbutmakeitsports

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Sportderps historic lols classical art sports art medieval history paint design artist tennis soccer basketball football painting classic college football
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