Art & Culture – Stuttgart

Art and culture are an integral part of Stuttgart life. With more than 40 theatres, 30 galleries and three major art museums, there is plenty to please the most discerning of art lovers. The Stuttgart State Theatre, which stages drama, operas and ballet, is one of the highlights of the Stuttgart arts scene. The Friedrichsbau international variety theatre and the SI Entertainment Centre have established Stuttgart as a city of musicals.

Opera House and Stuttgart State Theatre

The opera house was built by Max Littmann between 1909 and 1912 and is the home of the Stuttgart State Theatre which stages innovative drama, the award-winning, internationally acclaimed opera company and the famous Stuttgart Ballet, which is inextricably linked with names such as John Cranko and Marcia Haydée and also renowned for its international tours.

Stuttgart State Gallery

The Stuttgart State Gallery houses one of Germany's foremost art collections. The Old State Gallery features works from the 14th to the 19th centuries as well as an extensive collection of drawings, watercolours, collages, prints, illustrated books, posters and photographs. Paintings by Jerg Ratgeb, Canaletto, Memling and Rembrandt are the highlights. The New State Gallery, the new wing designed by James Stirling, is given over to 20th century art. The gallery has earned an international reputation by concentrating on important schools within various art movements (the fauvists", the "Brücke" group, "Blue Rider", "cubism") as well as distinctive periods in the work of individual artists (Picasso, Beckmann, Schlemmer, Beuys, Kiefer).

Stuttgart Art Museum

Stuttgart's prestigious municipal art collection is housed in a spectacular glass, cube-shaped building with around 5,000 square metres of gallery space. The collection focuses on Swabian impressionist artists, Adolf Hölzel and his circle and contemporary art from the local region. Its prized possession is the world's largest collection of works by Otto Dix, the German painter and graphic artist.