Art & Rugby ! Delaunay "Equipe de Cardiff" 1913

What a discovery (for me, at least...) !

My friend Pierre, sucessful entrepreneur and former rugger at Stade Français and RC Le Chesnay (the only French club with no website ??), referred to me last week this fantastic painting from Robert Delaunay, named "Equipe de Cardiff", first exhibited in 1913 and now at Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris.

Artists have often seen sports as an opportunity to capture modernity, movement, speed, bodies, colours... this painting brings all this, and much more... mixing the rugby game, the Eiffel tower (a recurring theme in Delaunay's work) and Paris Ferris Wheel, an aeroplane, advertising (Astra is a aeroplane manufacturer) in a splendid collage-like composition. Quote from Delaunay "Movement is produced by the rapport of odd elements, of the contrasts of colors between themselves which constitutes Reality"

The group of ruggers is said to be a photography of French (and not from Cardiff, I'm afraid...) players published in La Vie Au Grand Air, but did not manage to find it... Let's also remember that this pre-ww1 era was a great time for aviation pioneers (the Wright Bros first flying in 1903... Louis Bleriot crossing the Channel in 1909...). Here is (more or less) the same plane flying over Paris...

Interestingly, Delaunay worked out several other versions of his "Equipe de Cardiff" between 1912 and 1922... I've found three others now exhibited in Paris, Eindhoven (Van Abbemuseum) and Edinburgh (National Galleries of Scotland).

You will find Delaunay's bio (in English) and some other paintings on this nice website.

Enjoy !

(all pictures are copyrighted - credit to their respective owners)

rugby, Delaunay

Comments

[Gaw]

Hi Frederic

Just found this post on your site, which I've been enjoying regularly since I discovered it a couple of months or so ago. Just thought you might be interested in the post below, which was inspired by seeing this great painting at a recent Tate Modern exhibition.

http://gawragbag.blogspot.com/2009/07/racing-club-des-beaux-arts.html

I have a great love for the spirit of French rugby and was fortunate enough to have played a bit for the team Angouleme in my younger days. Keep up the good work, it's great stuff!

[Frederic (www.rugby-pioneers.com)]

Hi Gareth

Thanks for your kind words.

Actually, I'm waiting for Delaunay's artwork to be back in Paris and see it IRL !

I hope that you'll appreciate today (Sep.15.2009) find... another artist from the same era : Angel Zarraga

I've created a group on Flickr dedicated to Arts & Sports... not really successful, but you could find some other nice pieces of 'rugby' art there (André Lhote, Max Beckmans, Fougeron..)
http://www.flickr.com/search/groups/?q=rugby&w=936933%40N21&m=pool

I've also found some of your predecessors in Angouleme...
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=angouleme&w=27925507%40N00&m=pool

[Gaw]

The version of Delaunay's painting that I saw in London does look the best one. It was a real treat.

Thank you for those images. Some great posters. And thanks for the Angouleme pictures - took me back to my playing days (not as far back as the photos though!)

I only played for a few months as I ruptured my cruciate ligament and had to come home for an operation, after which the time seemed to have gone. What an experience though! One thing that struck me was all the hand-shaking - each training session or match, I must have shaken 50 hands, more than you'd do in a year over here in England.

[Frederic (www.rugby-pioneers.com)]

I also belong to the "club of former rugby players who had knee surgery"... we must be half a million or so... I should consider opening a Facebook group...

And btw, I found yesterday a (modern) postcard showing Delaunay's masterpice. Here is the hi-res picture :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rugby_pioneers/3008080492/sizes/o/