Art competitions were held from 1912 to 1948 at the Olympic Games. The competitions were an idea of Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Movement. Medals were awarded in five areas: architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture, to works of art inspired by sport. Image File history File links LinkFA-star. ... For months before the Olympic Games, runners relay the Olympic Flame from Olympia to the opening ceremony. ... Baron Pierre de Coubertin Pierre de Coubertin (January 1, 1863 – September 2, 1937), born as Pierre de Frédy, was a French pedagogue and historian, but is best known as the founder of the modern Olympic Games. ... The Parthenon on top of the Acropolis, Athens, Greece Architecture (from Latin, architectura and ultimately from Greek, αρχιτεκτων, a master builder, from αρχι- chief, leader and τεκτων, builder, carpenter) is the art and science of designing buildings and structures. ... Literature is literally acquaintance with letters as in the first sense given in the Oxford English Dictionary (from the Latin littera meaning an individual written character (letter)). The term has generally come to identify a collection of texts, which in Western culture are mainly prose, both fiction and non-fiction... Music is conceptual time expressed in the structures of tones and silence. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... An Italian Futurist sculpture by Umberto Boccioni at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City (MoMA). ...

The art competitions were abandoned in 1954 because artists were contended to be professionals, while Olympic athletes were required to be amateurs. Since 1956, the Olympic cultural programme has taken the place of the art competitions.

Competition

From 1912 to 1948 rules of the art competition varied, but the core of the rules remained the same. All of the entered works had to be inspired by sport, and had to be original (that is, not be published before the competition). Like in the athletic events at the Olympics, gold, silver, and bronze medals were awarded to the highest ranked artists, although not all medals were awarded in each competition. On a few occasions, no medals were in fact handed out at all.

Generally, it was allowed for artists to enter multiple works, although this number was sometimes restricted. This made it possible for an artist to win multiple prizes in a single competition.

Art competitions have been held in the five areas of architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture. At one time or another, there were suggestions to also include dancing, film, photography, or theatre, but none of these art forms was ever included in the Olympic Games as a medal event. A contemporary dancer rehearsing in a dance studio Dance generally refers to human movement either used as a form of expression or presented in a social, spiritual or performance setting. ... Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed. ... Photography is the process of making pictures by means of the action of light. ... It has been suggested that Drama (art form) be merged into this article or section. ...

Architecture

The 1928 Olympic Stadium, designed by Jan Wils, won the gold medal in architecture at the 1928 Olympics.

Two categories existed for architecture. In the general architecture category, prizes were awarded from 1912 to 1948; the town planning category was added in 1928. The division between the two was not always clear, and some designs have been awarded prizes in both categories. Image File history File links Olympic Stadium of the 1928 Summer Olympics, designed by Jan Wils Scan from Concours et exposition d art olympique: peinture, sculpture, architecture, catalogue of the 1928 Olympic art competitions, published 1928 in Amsterdam. ... Image File history File links Olympic Stadium of the 1928 Summer Olympics, designed by Jan Wils Scan from Concours et exposition d art olympique: peinture, sculpture, architecture, catalogue of the 1928 Olympic art competitions, published 1928 in Amsterdam. ...

Entries in this category were allowed to have been "published" before the Olympics. A notable example of this is the architecture gold medal awarded in 1928 to Jan Wils for his design of the Olympic Stadium which was actually used at the same Olympics. Categories: Stub | 1891 births | 1972 deaths | Dutch architects ...

Literature

The categories in literature have varied over the years. Until 1924 and in 1932, there was only a single literature category. In 1928, separate categories were introduced for dramatic, epic, and lyric literature. These classes also existed in 1948, while the drama category had been dropped for 1936. Ambiguity Dramatic can be : Dramatic, or full of drama. ... The epic is a broadly defined genre of poetry, and one of the major forms of narrative literature. ... Lyric poetry is a form of poetry that does not attempt to tell a story, as do epic poetry and dramatic poetry, but is of a more personal nature instead. ...

Entered works were limited in length (20,000 words) and could be submitted in any language, provided they were accompanied by English and/or French translations or summaries (rules varied over the years). The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

Music

A single event for music was contested until 1936, when three categories were introduced: one for orchestral music, one for instrumental music, and one for solo and choral music. In 1948, these categories were slightly modified into choral/orchestral, instrumental/chamber, and vocal music. The Boston Pops orchestra performing on the Charles River Esplanade in Boston, Massachusetts. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... In music, solo means to play or sing alone. ... A choir or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. ... Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. ... Vocal music is music performed by one or more singers, with or without instrumental accompaniment, in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. ...

The juries often had trouble judging the pieces, which were entered on paper. Possibly related to the problematic judging, juries frequently decided to award only a few prizes. On two occasions, no award was given out at all (in the 1924 music category and in the 1936 instrumental music category).

1936 marked the only occasion when the winning musical works were actually played before an audience.

Painting

Jean Jacoby is the only artist to win two gold medals. He won his second with the above drawing, titled Rugby.

As with the other art forms, a single painting category was on the programme until 1928, when it was split out into three sub-categories: drawings, graphic arts, and paintings. The categories then changed at each of the following Olympic Games. In 1932, the three categories were: paintings, prints, and water colours and drawings. Four years later, the prints category had disappeared, and had been replaced by graphic arts and commercial graphic art. At the final Olympic art competition, the three categories were applied arts and crafts, engravings/etchings, and oils/water colours. Image File history File links Rugby by Jean Jacoby Scan from Concours et exposition d art olympique: peinture, sculpture, architecture, catalogue of the 1928 Olympic art competitions, published 1928 in Amsterdam. ... Image File history File links Rugby by Jean Jacoby Scan from Concours et exposition d art olympique: peinture, sculpture, architecture, catalogue of the 1928 Olympic art competitions, published 1928 in Amsterdam. ... Drawing is a means of making an image, using any of a wide variety of tools and techniques. ... Graphic design is the applied art of arranging image and text to communicate a message. ... Printing is an industrial process for reproducing copies of texts and images, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. ... Watercolor is a painting technique making use of water-soluble pigments that are either transparent or opaque and are formulated with gum to bond the pigment to the paper. ... Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. ... Etching is an intaglio method of printmaking in which the image is incised into the surface of a metal plate using an acid. ...

Sculpture

The sculpture class had only a single category until 1928, when separate competitions were designated; one for statues and one for reliefs and medals. In 1936, this was split up further, creating separate categories for reliefs and medals. In the art of sculpture, a relief is an artwork where a modelled form projects out of a flat background. ... A Medal is a word used for various types of compact objects: a wearable medal awarded by an authority government for services redered, especially to a country (such as Armed force service); strictly speaking this only refers to a medal of coin-like appearance, but informally the word also refers...

Competitors

While several of the Olympic art medallists have achieved at least national fame, few of them can be considered well-known artists globally. In fact, the 1924 Games featured better known jury members than artists, with artists like Selma Lagerlöf and Igor Stravinsky judging the entered works. Selma Lagerlöf, painted by Carl Larsson, 1908 Selma Lagerlöf receives the Nobel Prize in Literature The Swedish 20-krona bill, with Selma Lagerlöf (help· info) (November 20, 1858 – March 16, 1940) was a Swedish author. ... Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (Russian: И́горь Фёдорович Страви́нский Igor Fëdorovič Stravinskij) (June 17, 1882 – April 6, 1971) was a Russian-born composer of modern classical music. ...

Judging by the medals won, Luxembourg painter Jean Jacoby is the most successful Olympic artist, winning the gold medal for his 1924 painting Étude de Sport, and for his drawing Rugby in 1928. Swiss artist Alex Diggelmann won three medals, a gold one in 1936 (for his poster Arosa I Placard), and a silver and a bronze in the 1948 applied arts & crafts class, both with commercial posters. Danish writer Josef Petersen won a silver medal on three occasions: in 1924, 1932, and 1948. The drawing Rugby earned Jacoby a gold medal in 1928. ... Alex Diggelmann was a Swiss artist who won three medals in the Olympic Games. ... Josef Petersen (16 September, 1881–22 November, 1973) was Danish author, known for many novels with historical, often Antique or Medieval motifs written from 1910 to 1949. ...

Alfréd Hajós is one of only two Olympians to have won medals in both sport and art competitions

Only two persons have won Olympic medals in both sport and art competitions. Walter Winans, an American who lived in England, won a gold medal as a marksman at the 1908 Summer Olympics in the running deer (double shot) competition. In 1912, he won another shooting medal — silver this time — in the running deer team competition. By then, he had already won a gold medal for his sculpture An American trotter. The other Olympian with successes in both fields is Alfréd Hajós of Hungary. As a swimmer, he won two gold medals at the 1896 Athens Olympics. Twenty-eight years later, he was awarded a silver medal in architecture for his stadium design, co-designed with Dezső Lauber. Alfréd Hajós - The First Olympic Champion in Swimming. ... Alfréd Hajós - The First Olympic Champion in Swimming. ... Walter Winans (April 5, 1852 - August 12, 1920) was an American-born British marksman, sculptor, and painter who participated in the 1908 and 1912 Summer Olympics. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the IV Olympiad, were held in 1908 in London, England. ... Alfréd Hajós (February 2, 1878 – November 12, 1955) was an Hungarian swimmer and architect. ... A breaststroke swimmer Swimming is a technique to move unaided through water. ... The 1896 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad, were held in 1896 in Athens, Greece. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

Two presidents of the International Olympic Committee have also been among the entrants in the Olympic art competitions. In 1912 Pierre de Coubertin, under the pseudonym "Georges Hohrod and Martin Eschbach", entered Ode to sport, which won the gold medal. Avery Brundage, who competed as an athlete at the 1912 Games, entered literary works at the 1932 and 1936 Olympics, earning an honorary mention in 1932. He would serve as the IOC's president from 1952 to 1972. Baron Pierre de Coubertin Pierre de Coubertin (January 1, 1863 – September 2, 1937), born as Pierre de Frédy, was a French pedagogue and historian, but is best known as the founder of the modern Olympic Games. ... A pseudonym (Greek: false name) is a fictitious name used by an individual as an alternative to his or her legal name. ... Avery Brundage (September 28, 1887 – May 8, 1975) was an American athlete, sports official, art collector, and philanthropist. ...

Britain's John Copley, winner of a silver medal in the 1948 engravings and etchings competition, was 73 years of age, making him the oldest Olympic medallist in history. The oldest Olympic medallist outside the art competitions is Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn, who won his last medal at age 72. Portrait of Copley by Gilbert Stuart. ...

See also

• Olympic medallists in art competitions

Below is a list of the Olympic medallists in art competitions. ...

References