Works of Art Related to Football

Football, association football, or soccer, if you are in the United States, is a very, very old game, and in fact, the most popular one on the planet. It has the most fans overall. It is logical to consider it the sport most people bet on, as well? While that is true, as there are absolutely games almost all the time, in almost every country, the entire year.

With football being such an old and popular sport, it would also be expected for it to have been immortalized with works of art? Well, yes, there are plenty of artistic creations related to football and here are some of them.

Adidas Fresco in Cologne – Felix Reidenbach

40 days to paint a 836 square meter ceiling in Cologne Central Station. That’s how long it took Felix Reidenbach, an artist from Hamburg, to paint one of the best advertisements for Adidas, ever. It was painted in 2006. The advertisement took its inspiration from the nave of the St. Ignatius Church in Rome, which was painted by Andrea Pozzo in 1685. The image sees footballers among clouds with Adidas cleats on their feet. The footballers in the painting are Zidane, Messi, Kaka, Podolski, Raul, Cisse, Riquelme, Ballack, and Beckham. It is probably a good feeling, to know that you are on a ceiling, in a painting similar to another which shows a saint, no less.

Bobby Charlton – Peter Edwards

Bobby Charlton was a very large presence during the 1966 World Cup for England. England was victorious during that World Cup and took home a championship title. Following the twenty fifth anniversary of that victory, in 1991, Peter Edwards painted Bobby Charlton sitting in his chair, relaxing, legs crossed, right foot resting on the left knee. Behind Bobby is another painting, and there is this part of the painting which makes it seem like Bobby has a halo. This is a nod to his gentlemanly demeanor.

The Art of the Game – Michael Browne

Taking inspiration from the Resurrection by Piero della Francesca painter around 1460. This painting, however, was painted in 1997 and was made to commemorate the success and domination of the Manchester United squad in the 90s. The painting has Beckham, Gary Neville and Philip Neville, Butt, Curtis, and Alex Ferguson. It is a lovely painting for all United fans.

Wembley – William Reginald Browne Howe

Wembley was built in 1923, with barely enough time to spare before the FA Cup Final match. The match was between West Ham United and the Bolton Wanderers. The stadium had no room for a crowd of almost 300,000 people and mounted police officers had to shove people off the field. One was on a white horse, hence the name, White Horse Finals.

These are some of the best paintings related to football. There are more, but these are the most interesting ones.

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