Three men of different ages, an old bearded sage, a turbaned man and a seated youth, pause at the edge of a wood before a dark cave, with a village and hills in soft light behind. One of Giorgione's last works, possibly painted for Taddeo Contarini, it has been read as the Magi, as stages of philosophy and as Plato's cave. No reading has won.
Look closer
The young man holds a set square and compass as he studies the cave. The canvas has been cut down on the left, beside the rock face.
Looks like this
Compared by a vision model
