Steps, Ladders, Stairs in Art. Volume 1

Intended for the general reader, the two-volume monograph Steps, Ladders, Stairs in Art is a visual examination of many manifestations of stairs in fine art and literature from pre-historic times to the present day. Throughout history and across cultures steps, ladders and stairs play a philosophic role in religious tradition and works of art: artists use the image to address questions of the path of life – how to ascend or descend, and where to; what obstacles are encountered on the way; individual flights and falls. The two volumes present Chemiakin’s visual analysis of the subject as well as explanatory texts treating diverse aspects of the research.Mihail Chemiakin, an artist, sculptor and art researcher, has collected over 2000 images on the theme of stairs in art, of which 768 are presented in this book. Steps, Ladder, Stairs in Art, first published in Russian in 2020, is the third in a series of books on themes of Chemiakin’s “Museum of the Imagination” research project.