FACTSHEET |
ART COMPETITIONS AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES
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08 November 2006 C-23 FE-art-competitions |
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“The time has come to take a new step forward and restore the Olympiad in all its original beauty. In the great days of Olympia ... arts and letters in harmony with sport brought greatness to the Olympic Games. The same must happen in the future.” Pierre de Coubertin (Le Figaro, 1904)
“The plan to institute five competitions, for architecture, sculpture, painting, literature and music, to become part of each Olympiad on the same footing as the athletic competitions, was approved unanimously. The subjects chosen - and this was the only requirement - would be inspired by the sporting ideal or have a direct link with sporting matters. Prize-winning works could - as long as the judges decided in good time - be exhibited, performed or presented during the Games, depending on whether they were paintings, statues, symphonic poems or dramatic works. But in any case, the winners of these competitions would participate with the winning athletes in the general distribution of rewards.” Pierre de Coubertin |
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Introduction |
Coubertin wanted to “move forward by stages in his ambitious and long-term enterprise”, which was why he attended the 4th Olympic Congress in Paris, to persuade the modern Olympic Movement to enter into a new alliance with the arts. The 4th Congress had the theme “The arts, letters and sport”. |
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Chronology
1906 |
Coubertin sent out invitations to a conference to arrange a “resounding collaboration by arts and letters in the renewal of the Olympiads”. There were 60 participants, including 30 artists and 6 out of the 31 IOC members. “All the works presented must be previously unpublished and directly inspired by the concept of sport.” The only rules were for sculpture: exhibits could measure no more than 80 cm in height, length or width. Prizewinning works were to be shown, published or performed during the Games. |
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1912
V Olympiad in Stockholm |
Art competitions were organized for the first time on an equal footing with the sporting events. Faced with a lack of interest by the Swedish national art academies and the architecture section of the Swedish Technical Academy, Coubertin decided to organize the competition under his own authority. Five gold medals and one silver were awarded:
Architecture: gold medal to architects Henri Monod and Alphonse Laverrière (SUI), “Construction plan for a modern stadium”. Literature: gold medal to Georg Hohrod and Martin Eschbach for “Ode to Sport”. No one had heard of the two authors. It was not until 1919 that Coubertin owned up to having written the Ode himself. |
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Music: gold medal to Ricardo Barthelemy (ITA) for “Triumphal Olympic March”. Painting: gold medal to Giovanni Pellegrini (ITA) for “Winter Sports”. Sculpture: gold medal to Walter Winans (USA) for a bronze statue entitled “An American Trotter”. (The artist was born in St Petersburg and lived in the county of Kent. He came from a family of Dutch architects, and specialized in the depiction of horses. He was the only man in the world to have brought off a sporting and artistic double, winning two gold medals. He had been the Olympic shooting champion in London in 1908, while in Stockholm he was a member of the American silver medal winning shooting team.) The silver medal was awarded to the French sculptor Georges Dubois (sketch and description of a gate for a “stadium”). |
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1920
VII Olympiad in Antwerp |
Architecture: no gold or bronze medals; silver medal to Holger Sinding-Larsen (NOR) for his “Plan for a school of physical education”. Literature: gold medal to Runiero Nicolai (ITA) for “Olympic hymns”; silver medal to Sir Theodore Andrea Cook (GBR), IOC member 1909-1915 for “The Antwerp Olympic Games”; bronze medal to M. Bladel (BEL) for “To the glory of the Gods”. Music: gold medal to Georg Monier (BEL) for “Olympique”; silver medal to Oreste Riva (ITA) for “Epinikion”. Painting: no gold medal; silver medal to Brossin de Polanska (FRA); bronze medal to Alfred Ost (BEL) for “The football player”. Sculpture: gold medal to Alberic Collin (BEL) for “Strength”; silver medal to L. Goosens (BEL) for “Skaters”; bronze medal to A. de Cuyper (BEL) for “Shot-putter and runner”. |
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1924
VIII Olympiad in Paris |
Twenty-three nations participated, entering 189 works. Members of the various juries: Selma Lagerlöf, Maurice Maeterlinck (literature); Paul Landowski, winner of the Prix de Rome (sculpture); Béla Bartók, Arthur Honegger, Maurice Ravel and Igor Stravinsky (music); Jan Wils (sculpture). Architecture: no gold medal; silver medal to the Hungarian Alfred Hajós (double Olympic swimming champion in 1896) - “plan for stadiums”; bronze medal to Julien Médecin (MON). “Monte-Carlo stadium” Literature: gold medal to the poet Géo-Charles (FRA) for “Olympic Games”; silver medals to Joseph Petersen (DEN) for “Euryale” and Margaret Stuart (GBR) for “Fencing songs”; bronze medals to Oliver Gogarty (IRL) for “Ode to the Tailteann Games” and Charles Antoine Gonnet (FRA) for “Before the God of Olympia”. Painting: gold medal to Jean Jacoby (LUX) for “Sporting study”; silver medal to Jack Yeats (IRL) for “Swimming”; bronze medal to Johannes Gerardus Van Hell (NED) for “Skaters”. |
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Sculpture: gold medal to Konstantinos Dimitriadis of Greece for his statue “Finnish discus thrower”; silver medal to François Heldenstein (LUX) for “Towards the Olympic Games”; bronze medals to Jean Gauguin (DEN) for “The Boxer” and Claude-Léon Mascaux (FRA) for “7 sporting medals”. Music: no medals awarded. |
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1928
IX Olympiad in Amsterdam |
Eighteen nations entered 1150 art works, plus 62 musical and literary compositions. An exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam attracted 100,000 visitors. Architecture w Sports buildings: gold medal to Jan Wils for the Amsterdam stadium; silver medal to Ejnar Mindedal-Rasmussen (DEN) for “Swimming pool in Ollenrup”; bronze medal to Jacques Lambert (FRA) for “Versailles stadium”. w Sports grounds: gold medal to Adolf Hensel (GER) for “Nuremberg Stadium”; silver medal to Jacques Lambert (FRA) for “Versailles Stadium”; bronze medal to Max Läuger (GER) for “Hamburg City Park”. Literature w Lyric works: gold medal to Kazimierz Wierzinsky (POL) for “Olympic Laurels”; silver medal to Rudolf Binding (GER) for “Riding tips to his beloved”; bronze medal to Johann Weltzer (DEN) for “Heroic Symphony”. w |
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1928
IX Olympiad in Amsterdam
cont... |
w Dramatic works: no gold medal; silver medal to L. de Bosis (ITA) for “Icarus”. w Epic works: gold medal to Dr Ferenc Mezö (HUN), IOC member 1948-1961 for “History of the Olympic Games”; silver medal to Ernst Weiss (GER) for “Boetius von Orlamünde”; bronze medal to Carel Theodorus Scharten-Antink (NED) for “De Nar in de Maremmen”. Music w Song: no medals awarded. w Instrumental works: no medals awarded. w Orchestral works: no gold or silver medals; bronze medal to Rudolph Simonsen (DEN) for Symphony no. 2 “Hellas”. Painting: gold medal to Isaac Israëls for “Red rider” (he was the only Dutch impressionist painter of the French school, son of the famous Jozef Israëls); silver medal to Laura Knight (GBR) for “Boxers”; bronze medal to Walther Klemm (GER) for “Skating”. w Drawings and watercolours: gold medal to Jean Jacoby (LUX) for “Rugby”; silver medal to Alexandre Virot (FRA) for “Football movements”; bronze medal to Wladyslaw Skoczylas (POL) for “Archer”. |
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w Graphic works: gold medal to William Nicholson (GBR) for “Colour woodcuts of 12 sports”; silver medal to Carl Moos (SUI) for “Athletics poster”; bronze medal to Max Feldbauer (GER) for “Mailcoach”. Sculpture w Statues: gold medal to Paul Landowski for “Boxer”; silver medal to Milo Martin (SUI) for “Athlete at rest”; bronze medal to Renée Sintenis (GER) for “Footballer”. w Reliefs and medals: gold medal to Edwin Grienauer (AUT) for “Medal”; silver medal to Christian Johannes van der Hoef (NED) for “Medals for the Olympic Games”; bronze medal to Edwin Scharff (GER) for “Plaque”. |
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1932
X Olympiad in Los Angeles |
One thousand one hundred entries were received from 31 countries. An exhibition at the Los Angeles Museum attracted 384,000 visitors.
Architecture w Town planning: gold medal to John Hughes (GBR) for “Plan of a leisure and sports centre with stadium for Liverpool”; silver medal to Haumoller-Klemmensen (DEN) for “Plan of a public park and stadium”; bronze medal to André Verbeke (BEL) for “Plan of a Marathon park”. w Architectural plans: gold medal to Gus Saacke, Pierre Beiley and Pierre Montenot (FRA) for “Bull ring”; silver medal to John Russel Pope (USA) for “Plan of the Payne Whitney Stadium”; bronze medal to Richard Konwiarz (GER) for “Plan for a race track in Silesia”. Literature: gold medal to Paul Bauer (GER) for the manuscript “Kampf um den Himalaya”, published in 1934 in Munich; silver medal to Josef Peterson (DEN) for “The Argonauts”, no bronze medal. Music: no gold or bronze medals; silver medal to Josep Suk (CZE) for the Symphonic March “Towards the new life”. Painting w Oils: gold medal to David Wallin (SWE) for “Beside the sea at Arilde”; silver medal to Ruth Miller (USA) for “Wrestling”. w Watercolours and sketches: gold medal to Lee Blair (USA) for “Rodeo”; silver medal to Percy Crosby (USA) for “Pocket knife”; bronze medal to Gerhardus Bernardus Westerman (NED) for “Rider”. |
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w Graphic works: gold medal to Joseph Webster-Golinken (USA) for “The scissors”; silver medal to Janina Konarks (POL) for “Stadium”; bronze medal to Joachim Karsch (GER) for “Changing of the guard” Sculpture w Statues: gold medal to Mahoney Young (USA) for “Knockout”; silver medal to Miltiades Manno (HUN) for “Wrestling”; bronze medal to Jakub Obrovsky (CZE) for “The Odyssey” w Medals and reliefs: gold medal to Josef Klukowski (POL) for “Sports statue”; silver medal to Frederick MacMonnies (USA) for “Lindbergh medal”; bronze medal to Tait McKenzie (USA) for “Athlete’s coat of arms” |
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1936
XI Olympiad in Berlin |
Seven hundred and forty works were entered. Architecture: gold medal to Werner March (GER) for “The Great Stadium, Berlin”; silver medal to Charles Downing Lay (USA) for “Marine Park, Brooklyn”; bronze medal to Theo Nussbaum (GER) for “Sports facilities and town plans in Cologne”. w Plans: gold medal to Hermann Kutschera (AUT) for “Ski stadium”; silver medal to Werner March (GER) for “The Great Stadium, Berlin”; bronze medal to Hermann Stiegelholzer and Herbert Kastinger (GER) for “Stadia in Vienna”. Literature w Lyric works: gold medal to Felix Dhünen (GER) for “The runner”; silver medal to Bruno Fattori (ITA) for “Faces of Azzurri”; bronze medal to Hans Stoiber (AUT) for “Discus”. w Dramatic works: no medals awarded. w Epic works: gold medal to Urho Karhumäki (FIN) for “In open water”; silver medal to Wilhelm Ehmer (GER) for “Around the roof of the world”; bronze medal to Jan Parandowski (POL) for “The Olympic discus”. Music w Song: gold medal to Paul Höffer (GER) for “The Olympic oath”; silver medal to Kurt Thomas (GER) for “Cantata to the 1936 Olympiad”; bronze medal to Harald Genzmer (GER) for “The runner”. w Instrumental: no medals awarded. |
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w Orchestral: gold medal to Werner Egk (GER) for “Solemn Olympic music”; silver medal to Lino Liviabella (ITA) for “The winner”; bronze medal to Jaroslav Kricka (CZE) for “Mountain melodies”. Painting and graphic arts w Paintings: no gold medal; silver medal to Rudolf Eisenmenger (AUT) for “Runner at the finish line”, bronze medal to Takaharu Fujita (JPN) for “Ice Hockey” |
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1936
XI Olympiad in Berlin contd. |
Painting and graphic arts w Paintings: no gold medal; silver medal to Rudolf Eisenmenger (AUT) for “Runner at the finish line”, bronze medal to Takaharu Fujita (JPN) for “Ice Hockey” w Drawings and watercolours: no gold medal; silver medal to Romano Dazzi (ITA) for “Four cartoons for frescoes”; bronze medal to Sujaku Suzuki (JPN) for “Classical Japanese equestrian competitions”. w Graphic arts: no medals awarded. w Applied Graphic Arts: gold medal to Alex Walter Diggelmann (SUI) for the poster “Arosa I”; silver medal to Alfred Hierl (GER) for “Avus international competition”; bronze medal to Stanislav Chrostowski (POL) for “Yachting Society diploma”. Sculpture w Medals: gold medal to Farpi Vignoli (ITA) for “Biga”; silver medal to Arno Beker (GER) for “The decathlete”; bronze medal to Stig Blomberg (SWE) for “Children fighting”. w Reliefs: gold medal to Emil Sutor (GER) for “Hurdlers”; silver medal to Jozef Klukowski (POL) for “Le Ballon”; no bronze medal. w Plaques: no gold medal; silver medal to Luciano Mercante (ITA) for “Medals”; bronze medal to Josue Dupont (BEL) for “Plaques of riders”. The jury had been appointed by the chief ideologist of the Nazi Party, Alfred Rosenberg. It was made up of seven Germans (whose votes counted as one) and two foreigners, though in artistic matters it was Adolf Ziegler, Hitler’s favourite painter, who decided what constituted beauty. During the preparations for the Olympic events, Adolf Ziegler arranged for the confiscation of works by Picasso, Barlach, Kollwitz, Kirchner, Kokoshka, Dix, Klee, Feininger and Corinth, which he would put on display a year later in Munich under the title “Degenerate Art”. As early as 1935, Avery Brundage had expressed doubts about the arts competitions, which in his view were incompatible with the ideal of amateurism. |
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1948 XIV Olympiad in London |
This was the last occasion on which art competitions were organized at the Games. The arts competitions aroused little interest and the criteria for selection were disputed by the IOC. Architecture w Town planning: the winner was Yrjö Lindegren (FIN), for his model of the tower of the stadium that was to be built in Helsinki for the 1952 Games; silver medal to Werner Schindler and Dr Edy Knupfer (SUI) for “The Swiss Confederation’s gymnastic and sports training centre”; bronze medal to Ilmari Niemelainen (FIN) for “The Kemi athletics centre”. |
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w Architectural plans: gold medal to Adolf Hoch (AUT) for “Ski jump on the Koblenz”; silver medal to Alfred Rinesch (AUT) for “Water sports centre in Carinthia”; bronze medal to Nils Olsson (SWE) for “Swimming pool and stadium for Gothenburg”. Literature w Lyric works: gold medal to Aale Tynni (FIN) for “The fame of Hellas”; silver medal to Ernst van Heerden (RSA) for “Six poems”; bronze medal to Gilbert Prouteau (FRA) for “Rhythms of the stadium”. w Dramatic works: no medals awarded. w Epic works: gold medal to Giani Stuparich (ITA) for “The cave”; silver medal to José Petersen (DEN) for “The Olympic champion”; bronze medal to Dr Eva Földes (HUN) for “The fountain of youth”. Music w Song: no gold or silver medals; bronze medal to Gabriele Bianchi (ITA) for “Olympic anthem”. w Chamber music: no gold medal; silver medal to John Weinzweig (CAN) for “Divertimenti for solo flute and string orchestra”; bronze medal to Sergio Lauricella (ITA) for “Toccata for piano”. w Orchestral music: gold medal to Zbigniew Turski (POL) for “Olympic symphony”; silver medal to Kalervo Tuukanen (FIN) for “Bear hunt”; bronze medal to Erling Brone (DEN) for “Vigour”. w |
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1948
XIV Olympiad in London, contd. |
Painting and graphic arts w Oils and watercolours: gold medal to Alfred Thomson (GBR) for “The London amateur championships”; silver medal to Giovanni Stradone (ITA) for “The track cyclist”; bronze medal to Letitia Hamilton (IRL) for “Meath Hunt Point to Point Race”. w Etchings and engravings: gold medal to Albert Decaris (FRA) for “Swimming pool”; silver medal to John Copley (GBR) for “Polo players”; bronze medal to Walter Battiss (RSA) for “Sport at the seaside”. w Drawings: no gold medal; silver medal to Alex Walter Diggelmann (SUI) for the poster “Cycling world championships”; bronze medal to Alex Walter Diggelmann (SUI) for “Ice hockey world championships”. |
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Sculpture w Medals: gold medal to Gustaf Nordahl (SWE) for “Homage to Ling”; silver medal to C. Kaar (GBR) for “Skater”; bronze medal to Hubert Yencesse (FRA) for “Swimmer”. w Reliefs: no gold or silver medals; bronze medal to Rosamund Fletcher (GBR) for “An end to hiding”. w Plaques: no gold medal; silver medal to Oscar Thiede (AUT) for “Eight sports plaques”; bronze medal to Edwin Grienauer (AUT) for “Rowing competition prize”. |
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In 1949 the IOC decided to discontinue the art competitions at the Olympic Games. This decision was repealed in 1951, but as the committee organizing the Helsinki Games refused to organize them, they disappeared from the programme for good. There was no rift between art and sport; exhibitions continued to be held, but no further prizes were awarded. Architecture competitions were organized by the Olympic Games Organizing Committees for sports facilities. |
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1968
XIX Olympiad in Mexico City |
Felix Candela, Antonio Peyri and Enrique Castañeda Tamborel received first prize for architecture for their project for the “Juan Escutia” sports complex, designed for the Olympic Games in Mexico. There were 12 entries. |
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1972
XX Olympiad in Munich |
The first prize was won by Benisch & Partners for their plan (out of 100 plans entered) for the design of a 280-hectare Olympic Park in Munich. |
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1992 XXV Olympiad in Barcelona |
Exhibition “IOC suite”. |
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IOC - Château de Vidy, 1007 Lausanne,Switzerland, Tel. (4121) 6216111, Fax (4121) 6216216 . www.olympic.org- betty.guignard@olympic.org |
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