Abstract
The chapter focuses on the relationship between fine arts and sports. Sport's popularity and its ability to mobilize the masses attract various interest groups and political parties during the 20thcentury as well as mass media and industry.
Not did sport escape the attention of politicians from Western democracies and dictatorships alike. All projected their political ideals onto sport and sought to use it to promote them.
The sport was a backdrop against which they could display their ideologies, and they organized bombastic domestic and international sports and gymnastics events to that end. Sports grounds and stadiums were built for these occasions, posters were printed to encourage participation, and pictures, sculptures and films were made to celebrate or document them.
This chapter shows that while some artist affirmed the values promoted by the establishment, others used their work to criticize them.