“The Body in Motion” exhibition at the Petit Palais in Paris: it’s our ‘arthletes’ turn to speak!

To coincide with the Olympic & Paralympic Games Paris 2024, the Petit Palais art museum in Paris has been staging “The Body in Motion” exhibition since May 15, 2024 in which works from the museum’s collections are used to illustrate similarities between art and sport.

Fifty works from the Petit Palais’ own collections are complemented by recorded interviews with athletes who share their personal perception of the works, establishing links between the artists’ creations and their own activities as high-level sportsmen and women.

The exhibition, with a scenography design chosen to reflect the colors of the Olympic Games, presents works from the collections of the Petit Palais ranging from Antiquity to the early 20th century, some of which have been brought out of the reserves especially for this occasion. These paintings, sculptures and objets d’art, in addition to drawings and prints from the museum, were selected for the way in which they highlight the body, anatomy, and sport.

In the Athletes’ own words

As you progress through the exhibition, you can discover 12 videos entitled “In the Athletes’ own words”, presenting sportsmen and sportswomen supported by the companies of Groupe BPCE, a Premium Partner of the Olympic & Paralympic Games Paris 2024 and a major patron of the Petit Palais.

Each athlete has chosen a work that particularly resonates with their own sport and practice, their personal life, the physical challenges they’ve had to face, the artistic expression of the perfectly executed gesture, their own personal ambitions and the goals they have set themselves. These moving videos shed light on the link between art and sport, with the participating athletes becoming, in their own words, ‘arthletes.’

The exhibition is open free of charge from May 15 to November 17, and will be complemented by a great many activities and visits for all types of public.

You can also find “The Body in Motion” on the Petit Palais iOS and Android apps, which can be downloaded from the AppStore or Google Play.

About the Group’s patronage of the Petit Palais:

Groupe BPCE, which has been a major patron of the Petit Palais for 3 years, demonstrates its commitment to the museum through three major initiatives: it is financing the restoration of the peristyle and fresco, supporting the priority work of the Petit Palais’ climate plan and CSR, and contributing to the production of the “The Body in Motion” exhibition, echoing its commitment to the world of sport.