By C. Perera, JadeTimes News
An exhibition inspired by the 1924 Paris Olympic Games will showcase how international artists engaged with the themes of the sporting body a century ago. According to curators, the event marked the first truly international Olympic Games.
Among the rare items on display at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge is a letter from American long jumper William DeHart Hubbard, the first black athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in an individual event. The exhibition is scheduled to open a week before the start of the Paris 2024 Games.
Featuring works by leading modernist artists such as Pablo Picasso, Diego Rivera, Natalia Goncharova, and Umberto Boccioni, the exhibition will also include classical sculptures, posters, fashion, and photography from the "Roaring Twenties," a decade characterized by significant economic and social changes.
Highlights include a letter written by University of Michigan student Hubbard to his mother while aboard the SS America en route to Paris, and artworks inspired by athletes of the era, displayed alongside posters from the 1924 Games. Jacqueline Marval’s transition from painting classical nudes to bathers after discovering the French holiday resort Biarritz is also featured.
The 1924 Games were notable for being the first to broadcast radio commentaries, and advancements in training, clothing, and equipment enabled athletes to set new records. Olympians, such as swimming star Johnny Weissmuller, who later became a Hollywood actor, and tennis player Helen Wills, who became the first female athlete to achieve global celebrity status, are highlighted in the exhibition.
Additionally, the exhibition will shed light on the lesser known aspect of Olympic history the art competitions that were part of the Games from 1912 to 1948.
