STAATSGALERIE STUTTGART

by Torick Sphen Hatha

After an hour long train ride, we arrived to a sunny but still cold Stuttgart. We walked from the station through the center of town to the art gallery. We walked past the Opera House which was beautiful with its classic statues looking down at us. Later that day I snuck into the Opera after a show and admired the painted ceiling and just the 'feeling' of the place, this is something I suggest everyone does ;). Once we got to the gallery we took off our extra 2 layers of clothes (this undressing thing is something I'm not going to miss) and shoved everything into a locker. 

Now, our guide was waiting for us and we were then shepherded by Christina and Tina through the entrance. All the artwork is organised into the different art movements, we started off with the Neoclassists which were characterised by their throwback to classic times with prominent ancient Greek themes. Following this we went past some Romantic paintings that I remembered from my Highschool art textbook, I tried to contain my excitement ... 
Our guide told us a brief history of the gallery and about the numerous 'masterpieces' that were bought but turned out to be fakes. This brief history also contained typical stories of Swabian shrewdness and the states reluctance to pay for luxuries such as art. 

We finished off our tour in the modern art section , walking past Franc Marx and Picasso (definitely something I'll be bragging about back home). All in all, it was a culturally enriching experience. I suggest everyone goes back and just wanders through the gallery appreciating everything.