Die Treppe von Cannes (2000) is a notable graphic edition by Sigmar Polke that exemplifies his satirical critique of media spectacle and celebrity culture. Translating to "The Stairs of Cannes," the work directly references the iconic red-carpeted steps of the Palais des Festivals at the Cannes Film Festival. Fascination with mass culture and consumer obsession led Polke to focus on Cannes as a symbol of prestige, glamour, and visual illusion. The artwork was conceived and created directly as a printed graphic edition rather than being painted on canvas first. Published as an offset lithograph on cardboard in an edition of 75 with 20 artist proofs, the heavy support gives a physical permanence to an otherwise fleeting media image. Polke treated prints and editions as a primary, standalone medium rather than secondary reproductions of gallery paintings. Rather than capturing a clean photo, he manipulated found press imagery by overlaying halftone raster dots and visual noise to question the truthfulness of mass-produced media. The work was published by Edition Staeck in Heidelberg, founded by Klaus Staeck, a frequent collaborator who shared Polke's vision of democratic printmaking. Though produced in 2000, the print carries the core conceptual spirit of the Capitalist Realism movement Polke co-founded in the 1960s.

Today, this piece is preserved within the Bushwick Sur Seine collection, representing Polke's lifelong engagement with mechanical reproduction, image distortion, and tactile materiality.