Lebenstreppe Explained

A Lebenstreppe or Stufenalter (German: "steps of life" or "stages of life") is a pictorial representation of the human life as a series of ascending and descending steps. The tradition began in fifteenth-century Europe and many hundreds of variations were produced until the early twentieth century, though the popularity of the tradition waned during the nineteenth century.^[1] The most common variation depicts ten steps each representing ten years, with the peak at fifty.^{[2] [3] [4] [5]} Parodic versions have been created for satiric, moralistic, and advertising purposes.

Notes and References

1. Book: Heath . Kay . Aging by the Book: The Emergence of Midlife in Victorian Britain . 2009 . SUNY Press . New York . 8.
2. Web site: The Steps of Life . The Public Domain Review . 3 July 2023 . 31 May 2016.
3. Web site: print; satirical print . The British Museum . 3 July 2023.
4. Book: Joerißen . Peter . Will . Cornelia K. . Die Lebenstreppe: Bilder der menschlichen Lebensalter: eine Ausstellung des Landschaftsverbandes Rheinland, Rheinisches Museumsamt, Brauweiler in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Städtischen Museum Haus Koekkoek, Kleve . 1983 . Rheinland-Verlag . 3792707624 .
5. Book: Daiber . Jürgen . Literatur und Todesangst: Strategien poetischer Bewältigung . 2020 . Brill . 9783957437068 . 223–231 . German . Kapitel VIII Lebenstreppen, oder: statt eines Nachworts.