"Bodies in motion" at the Petit Palais

Wrapped in Olympic colors, this exhibition features 50 art pieces from the Petit Palais, ranging from Antiquity to the early 20th century, some of which have been specially brought out of the museum's storage. The museum's paintings, sculptures, objects, drawings and prints have been selected for their focus on the body, anatomy and sport. The exhibition is divided into seven sections.

The tour begins in the Antiques gallery, which takes us back in time to the Origin of the Games. A little further on, the icons collection highlights the representation of the heroic body through the figure of Saint George slaying the dragon. Body drawings remind us of the importance of the human figure in Western art, the exposition presents studies of male nudes by Dürer and Rembrandt. The chronology then continues with a dance interlude around bodies suspended in motion. This particular selection of artwork shows that artists throughout the ages have been fascinated by dancing. They have always been eager to capture its essence, as Carpeaux did with his Trois Grâces (The Three Graces).

The Body sculpture section sheds light on sculptors' quest for life within still pieces. With La Danseuse Sacha Lyo, Sergei Yurevich manages to capture the dancer's tense posture. The Saddle up! part addresses the emancipation of women through sport, with paintings by Jacques-Emile Blanche and Léon Comerre. Bodies at play presents children's games such as battledore and shuttlecock or pick-up sticks, the respective ancestors of badminton and Mikado, through 18th-century paintings. The final section of the tour takes a look at sports in vogue at the beginning of the 20th century, marking the arrival of the modern Olympic Games. This new era then takes visitors right up to the present day. To mark the centenary of the Paris Olympics, the Petit Palais is showcasing two of Félix Bracquemond's vases which were awarded to sportsmen and women in 1924.