Lebenstreppe

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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.

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References

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