Why it matters
Three men of different ages (one young, one middle-aged, one old) stand in a landscape, the youngest studying a cave with instruments. One of Giorgione's last paintings, it has prompted many interpretations, from the three Magi to the transmission of knowledge.
Did you know?
- It was finished around 1509, a year before Giorgione died.
- Its title comes from Marcantonio Michiel, who saw it in Venice a few years later.
- It may have been commissioned by Taddeo Contarini, who was interested in alchemy.
Based on the Wikipedia article The Three Philosophers (CC BY-SA 4.0).
