If we are to believe the famous phrase uttered in 1908 by Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the International Olympic Committee, “the important thing is to participate”.

On the contrary, the Musée Nicéphore Niépce’s selection of sports photographs demonstrates the power and performance of these competitive athletes. For them, the important thing is to win! Thanks to photography, athletes became celebrities, their exploits immortalized and broadcast around the world.

Technology is gradually being used in competitions to decide the winners at the finish line, as it is the only way to capture what the eye has difficulty determining. It dramatizes and aestheticizes sporting practices, paying particular attention to light, composition and the intensity of the key moment.

It’s not just documentary, it’s artistic. To celebrate this Olympic year, the exhibition presents a selection of photographs tracing the evolution of sporting practices over 90 years, from 1908 to 1998.