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What do Simone Biles and a Degas character have in common? Images from the Paris 2024 Olympics that are reminiscent of works of art

EL PAÍS has matched 13 photos from the Games with artworks that capture their essence and feeling, from Munch’s ‘The Scream’ to Michelangelo’s ‘David’

Madrid - Aug 08, 2024 - 18:11CEST

On the left, Kim Ye-ji, the 31-year-old South Korean shooter who won the silver medal in the women's 10-meter air pistol. She went viral on social media, sparking fascination, intimidation and admiration at the same time. On the right, the piece 'Too Young to Die', 2001, by Yoshitomo Nara, the creator of the Japanese pop art genre Kimo kawaii, which literally means “disgusting cute.” Charles McQuillan (Getty)/

On the left, a boxing match (in the over 92 kg category) in the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics between Teremoana of Australia and Bakhodir Jalolov of Uzbekistan. On the right, the painting 'Ixion' by José de Ribera, which hangs in the Prado Museum in Madrid. In both images, the bodies seen are twisted, but the gestures are more marked in the painting. In the canvas, there is punishment. In the photo, the loser of the match is the one who suffers. Richard Pelham (Reuters)/ Museo

On the left, Italy's Thomas Ceccon with his gold medal after winning the men's 100m backstroke final. On the right, Michelangelo's sculpture of David. Two bodies perfectly sculpted by desire and dreams.M. Maeissner (Ap/Lapresse)/ V. F

Simone Biles (l) touches up her makeup at one of the finals of the Paris Olympics. In her TikTok account, where she has more than a million followers, and in her Netflix documentary, the gymnast has explained the importance she gives to her beauty routines and how over the years she has managed to move away from the Eurocentric canon of beauty. On the right, the 1897 painting ‘Éloge du maquillage’ ('In Praise of Cosmetics’), by Degas. The work recently sold in Spain for less than €1,000.CORTESÃA BLASCO VISUAL MEDIA

On the left, Uta Abe, the Japanese juooka whose cries of frustration after losing in the under-52 kg elimination round of 16 will never be forgotten. On the right, 'The Scream' by Edvard Munch (1863-1944).Michael Reaves (Getty)/Christoph

On the left, Brazil's Gabriel Medina in the third round of the surfing competition in Paris. The image captured by photographers has become one of the most memorable photos of the 2024 Olympics Games. It is difficult to find a similar painting, but 'The Crucified Christ Appears to Saint Teresa of Avila,’ by Alonso Cano, represents the essence of the surfer’s unexpected airborne celebration. Xinhua News/ContactoPhoto/ Museo (maping / Xinhua News / ContactoP)

In this other comparison, Brazilian Gabriel Medina comes out of the wave and celebrates his feat like Jesus in Bosch's 'The Haywain Triptych.’Xinhua News/ContactoPhoto/ Museo (maping / Xinhua News / ContactoP)

Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic celebrates after beating Germany’s Dominik Koepfer. A few days later, he won the gold medal against Carlos Alcaraz and celebrated with the rest of his delegation by dancing. On the right, one of the characters in the painting 'Scena de Interior de Taberna' (‘Interior Tavern Scene’), by anonymous.Juanjo Martín (EFE)/ Museo del (EFE)

There is no detail of the Olympic Games that the media does not capture and broadcast. Through makeup, jewelry, nails and accessories, female athletes send out personal messages. On the right, the bejeweled hand of 'Isabel de Valois Holding a Portrait of Philip II', a painting by Sofonisba Anguissola.Aleksandra Szmigiel (Reuters) / (REUTERS)

Nathalie Moellhausen, a 38-year-old Brazilian fencer, entered the Olympic Games in Paris with a benign tumor in the coccyx region that causes her chronic pain. As a result of this, she fell in a bout, she couldn’t take the pain anymore. Her coaches went to assist her and when someone from the organization approached the fencer with a chair, her coach sat down on it, as can be seen in video grabs. On the right, the work 'Susana y Los Viejos' (‘Susanna and the Elders’), by Artemisia Gentileschi.Rodrigo Jimenez (EFE)

On the left, Isabell Werth, a German rider, competing in an Olympic event. On the right, 'Queen Isabel of Bourbon Equestrian’, by Velázquez. It is easy to see the similarities between these two images, but one has to delve into the layers of female equestrian representations in the History of Art to understand that when a noblewoman got on a horse, she equated herself to a man in a show of power.ERIK S. LESSER (EFE)/ Museo del (EFE)

A group of women competing in the triathlon in the Seine River in Paris. On the right, the painting 'Entropía' by Genovés. David Goldman (AP/Lapresse) (Associated Press/LaPresse)

LeBron James (l) hangs from the basket in the first round of the Olympic basketball competition. On the right, a detail from Caravaggio's 'The Crucifixion of Saint Peter.' Evelyn Hockstein (REUTERS)