Sporting events aren’t a universal art theme; mythology, spirituality, and nature light the global canvas.

Universals in World Art: When themes repeat and one doesn’t

Let’s start with a simple question: what themes tend to pop up in art from around the globe? Some are practically everywhere, while others show up only in certain places or times. For the arts, this can tell us a lot about culture, belief, and daily life. Here’s a clear way to think about it, using a handy question that often comes up in OSAT-related learning: Which theme is not universally found in art from around the world? A quick answer you can circle in your mind: Sporting events.

Sporting events—not as universal as myth, faith, or nature

Here’s the thing: myth, spirituality, and nature show up in art across many different societies. Mythology gives us stories about gods, heroes, and creation myths that people in distant times used to explain how the world works. Spirituality appears in sacred icons, symbols, and ritual images that reflect a community’s beliefs and values. Nature—everything from mountains and rivers to animals and weather—speaks to people because the world around us is shared, even when languages and customs differ.

But sporting events, while you’ll certainly find sports in some art collections, aren’t a universal thread. Some cultures have strong traditions of games, combat, or athletic ritual that artists depict with vigor. Others place less emphasis on athletic competition as a visible subject in their art, or they portray sports in ways that feel closer to daily life than to grand myth or sacred imagery. That’s why many art historians describe sports as culture-specific rather than a common universal theme.

Let me explain by looking at three broad themes that do show up almost everywhere, and then contrasting them with sports.

Mythology: stories that cross borders

Mythology is one of the most durable themes in art. You’ll see it in ancient Greek vases, Egyptian wall paintings, Hindu temple sculpture, Chinese myth tablets, and countless other forms. Myths give shape to shared questions: where do we come from? Why do gods behave the way they do? What moral path should people follow?

These stories travel because they touch on universal human concerns—creation, courage, fate, justice. Even when the characters differ—Poseidon in one culture, Odin in another—the way artists use myth to teach, inspire, or warn remains strikingly similar. Symbols recur: a hero’s journey, a miraculous birth, a flood or a world-ending event. Mythology in art isn’t just decoration; it’s a way of saying, “This is how we understand the world.”

Spirituality: signs of belief in color and form

Spiritual themes are almost as widespread as myth. Think of Christian icons, Buddhist mandalas, Islamic calligraphy, African spiritual symbols, Indigenous rituals, and beyond. Spiritual art often uses specific cues—halos, sacred geometry, ritual objects, and color schemes—that communicate beliefs even to viewers who don’t share the same faith. These pieces can be quiet and contemplative or dazzling and complex, but they all aim to connect the viewer with something larger than everyday life.

What’s especially striking is how spirituality in art can be intensely local while still feeling part of a larger human conversation. A prayerful image in a small temple or a ceremonial mask from a distant coast may look unfamiliar, yet the impulse to honor something sacred is universal. That’s why spiritual themes travel well across cultures: they reflect core questions about meaning, purpose, and our place in the world.

Nature: landscapes, weather, and life around us

Nature is perhaps the most universal subject of all. Artists everywhere engage with the land, sea, sky, and creatures. Some works celebrate the beauty of a particular place—its light, its seasons, its unique flora and fauna. Others use nature to symbolize ideas: fertility, danger, renewal, or the passage of time. The language is practical and intimate at the same time, because nature is something most people encounter daily.

From the alpine scenes of European painters to the wild coastlines in Japanese woodblock prints, to the deserts and savannas depicted by artists in Africa and the Americas, nature provides both a literal subject and a suite of symbolic meanings. It’s a shared canvas for human experience, no matter what culture you’re looking at.

Sporting events: culture-tuned, not universal

Now, back to sporting events. In some cultures, art that centers on athletes, feats of strength, or competitive games is vivid and celebrated. You might see wrestling scenes on textiles, traditional ball games captured in murals, or polo scenes on illuminated manuscripts. In other places, artists might focus more on ritual, daily life, landscape, or myth and spirituality, and sports scenes don’t stand out as a dominant theme.

There are a few reasons for this difference. First, the social meaning of sports varies widely. In some societies, a game may be tied to ceremony, status, or spiritual practice rather than pure competition. In others, political life, farming cycles, or mythic narratives take center stage in art, leaving sports to remain a more modern or occasional subject. Second, the visible presence of sports today—stadium lights, uniforms, broadcasted events—can shape how we imagine sport’s role in art. In many ancient or traditional artworks, sporting activity may appear, but it’s often embedded in a larger scene—war, festival, or harvest—rather than standing alone as the main idea.

So, why does this matter if you’re looking at art from around the world?

Because recognizing universals versus culture-specific themes helps you read images more deeply. If you spot mythological figures or sacred symbols, you can read the work as a reflection of shared human concerns. If you notice natural settings or landscape elements, you’re looking at a dialogue with place, climate, and environment. If you see athletic bodies or game scenes, you’re catching a cultural fingerprint, something that tells you about particular social rituals, community life, or historical moments—rather than a universal language.

A few vivid examples to anchor the idea

• Mythology in temple sculpture: In Hindu temples, you’ll often find gods and hero figures carved in relief, telling epics like the Ramayana or Mahabharata through anatomy, gestures, and tiny narrative details. The same impulse—to explain the cosmos and human duty through story—shows up in Greek vases and Norse wood carvings as well, even though the characters and settings differ.

• Spirituality in sacred art: Byzantine icons use gold backgrounds and frontal poses to convey spiritual presence. Buddhist thangkas present meditative scenes and wheel symbols that encode teachings. And in West African masquerade art, spiritual power translates through masks and performances that connect the living with ancestral realms. The through-line is belief made visible.

• Nature in landscape and habitat art: Chinese ink landscapes want you to feel the mood of a mountain pass or a river’s pace; Japanese screens might frame a seasonal change with delicate brushwork and space. In the American Southwest, desert light and rock formations become physical teachers about time and endurance. Nature, in these cases, isn’t just scenery—it’s a way people relate to place and identify with it.

• Sporting events as a cultural lens: A Persian miniature might feature polo scenes with graceful horses and riders in a courtly setting, showing social hierarchy and ritual pride. Sumo art in Japan, or certain murals depicting wrestling or archery, can reveal training, strength, and communal values. But you’ll seldom see a global, cross-cultural “sport motif” that functions the same way myth or spirituality does across continents.

What this means for reading art

• Look for the big three. If you’re unsure what a work is about, ask: Is there a mythic figure, a statement about belief, or a strong sense of nature? Those often point to universal themes.

• Notice the setting and symbols. Are there halos, sacred emblems, or ceremonial items? That’s spiritual language. Are there landscapes or weather symbols? Nature is speaking. Are there gods, heroes, or moral tales mapped onto action? Myth is likely in play.

• Check the human activities. Do people appear in a ritual, a battle, or a daily life moment? If it’s an athletic scene, ask whether the artist is highlighting a local tradition or a broader social function. You’re likely looking at a culture-specific entry point.

• Read the artwork’s context, not just its visuals. Materials, scale, and the tradition it comes from matter a lot. A temple wall’s narrative differs from a scroll painting or a contemporary mural, and those differences shape what the image means to its original audience.

A practical way to talk about this in a class or a short write-up

• Start with the universal claim: myth, spirituality, and nature show up broadly in world art.

• Then state the exception clearly: sporting events are not universally found as a central theme.

• Add a couple of concrete examples: describe one mythic scene, one spiritual image, and one nature-inspired work from different regions; then mention a sporting scene that exists in a few cultures but isn’t a global constant.

• End with a reflection: understanding these patterns helps us read art with curiosity and care, noticing both what’s shared and what’s unique to a culture.

Keeping the conversation lively without getting lost in jargon

If you’re ever tempted to get overwhelmed by terms, think of it as a conversation with a friend who loves stories, sacred places, and the outdoors. Myth is the origin story told with color. Spiritual art is the quiet voice of belief in form. Nature art is a relationship with the land. Sports—when they appear—are a cultural snapshot, a window into a community’s social life, its celebrations, its values.

A few final thoughts to take away

• Not every culture treats sport as a dominant artistic theme. That doesn’t make the art any less rich; it just means the artist’s main message sits elsewhere in the image.

• The universal themes help us build bridges between cultures, while the culture-specific details remind us that each artwork lives in a particular time and place.

• When you talk or write about art from around the world, name both the common threads and the distinctive ones. That combination shows you’ve thought about the work in a nuanced, careful way.

If you’re curious about how these ideas show up in real works, next time you encounter a piece, try this quick checklist in your notes:

• What theme is front and center: myth, spirituality, nature, or something else?

• Are there symbols that signal a specific belief or tradition?

• How is the environment depicted? Is it a landscape, a sacred setting, or a stage for action?

• If there is a sporting scene, what social meaning does it carry? Is it about ritual, status, or community life?

Sporting events, in the grand tapestry of world art, aren’t a universal thread. They’re a distinctive note—beautiful when they appear, yet not guaranteed in every culture. Myth, spirituality, and nature remain the enduring voices that artists around the globe turn to time and again. Recognizing that mix helps us read artwork with greater empathy and sharper eyes.

So the next time you stand before a painting or a sculpture, ask yourself what story it’s trying to tell. Is it inviting you into a mythic journey, guiding you through a ritual belief, or inviting you to feel the weather and terrain of a place? If a sports scene does show up, notice what it reveals about the people who created it—their crowd, their rituals, their meaning of strength and skill. And if not, appreciate the other threads that keep art rich and resonant across cultures.

In the end, art is a conversation across time and space. Myth, spirituality, and nature keep speaking. Sporting events occasionally chiming in remind us that every culture has its own soundtrack for life. When you listen closely, you’ll hear a chorus that’s at once familiar and wonderfully unique.