Both studies were executed circa 1879 and are two of the first concepts for each painting.

The study for 'Lob der Bescheidenheit' (In Praise of Modesty) (Meser-Graefe 423) concentrates its composition on the two main figures, although the boy with outstretched hands is positioned to the right, as in other earlier preliminary sketches. The final composition is one of the least constructed and yet most sensitive of his oeuvre, although the obvious imbalance is probably due to a planned pendant to the work, as Marées was developing an aversion to 'the single picture'. The title derives from the artist's own ideas, with the reference in his letters to modesty in art, although this concept may have only then applied to the work after the initial sketches.

The study on the reverse for 'Das Goldenes Zeitalter I' (The Golden Age I) (M-G 423A) refers to his ideas for the first version of this subject. In this sketch, the old man is much younger, but the placement of the couple in the background is as in the completed work, with a slight alteration to the posture of the figure before them.