Sports and art have been a part of society for thousands of years. Both have adapted and advanced alongside humanity all over the world. To be able to capture the pure essence of a sport through artwork is no easy task, but it exemplifies a true thing of beauty. George Bellows and Thomas Eakins are two outstanding American artist who have done just that. “Stag at Sharkey’s” painted by George Bellows and “The Biglin Brothers Turning the Stake” painted by Thomas Eakins are both exceptional paintings of sporting events that have the ability to strike and stimulate the minds of their audience. George Bellows grew up with two passions. One of those passions was for sports, but the stronger one was for art. He was born in 1882, and unfortunately
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The painting features two boxers competing in a boxing match at Tom Sharkey’s Athletic Club. The club was located across the street from Bellows’ Manhattan studio in New York City. This club was technically illegal at the time because public prize fighting was prohibited in New York. In order to keep the club secret from the authorities, it had the appearance of an ordinary tavern, but they kept a boxing ring in the back room. Only members of Sharkey’s were allowed in the club to watch the local semi-professional boxers compete in the ring. Outsiders who competed in the ring were known as a “stag”, therefore, one of the boxers in the painting is an outsider. The two fighters appear to be equal in strength and skill, leaving the audience unable to know who will …show more content…
He was met with resistance, controversy and disappointment, but today he is known to be an important American realist painter. Eakins was born in 1844 and grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During his childhood he learned many technical skills from watching his own father at work. His father was a writing master and calligraphy teacher. Eakins was able to pick up on skills like precision and perspective. Eakins had always enjoyed sports and art, and he too was an athletic child. He liked rowing, ice skating, swimming, wrestling, sailing, and gymnastics, and at some point in his art career he painted scenes of these sports. In high school, mechanical drawing was his strong suit. Since he was intrigued with the human body, he studied anatomy at a couple institutions after high school from 1861 until 1865. Eakins then went on to study in Paris, France where he was only the second American to learn from the famous French realist painter, Jean-Léon Gérôme. He returned to Philadelphia in 1870 and would complete most of his art while living there until he died in 1916. Eakins was known for painting many portraits as well as outdoor activity
The painting features two boxers competing in a boxing match at Tom Sharkey’s Athletic Club. The club was located across the street from Bellows’ Manhattan studio in New York City. This club was technically illegal at the time because public prize fighting was prohibited in New York. In order to keep the club secret from the authorities, it had the appearance of an ordinary tavern, but they kept a boxing ring in the back room. Only members of Sharkey’s were allowed in the club to watch the local semi-professional boxers compete in the ring. Outsiders who competed in the ring were known as a “stag”, therefore, one of the boxers in the painting is an outsider. The two fighters appear to be equal in strength and skill, leaving the audience unable to know who will …show more content…
He was met with resistance, controversy and disappointment, but today he is known to be an important American realist painter. Eakins was born in 1844 and grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During his childhood he learned many technical skills from watching his own father at work. His father was a writing master and calligraphy teacher. Eakins was able to pick up on skills like precision and perspective. Eakins had always enjoyed sports and art, and he too was an athletic child. He liked rowing, ice skating, swimming, wrestling, sailing, and gymnastics, and at some point in his art career he painted scenes of these sports. In high school, mechanical drawing was his strong suit. Since he was intrigued with the human body, he studied anatomy at a couple institutions after high school from 1861 until 1865. Eakins then went on to study in Paris, France where he was only the second American to learn from the famous French realist painter, Jean-Léon Gérôme. He returned to Philadelphia in 1870 and would complete most of his art while living there until he died in 1916. Eakins was known for painting many portraits as well as outdoor activity