The Three Ages of Man or Reading a Song is a 1500-1501 painting by Giorgione, now displayed at the Galleria Palatina within the Palazzo Pitti in Florence.

[1] The opera was first identified in a description by Marcantonio Michiel of the antique dressing room of Gabriele Vendramin, cited in a 1569 inventory.

The title it has today is from the 17th century, but other hypotheses have suggested that the painting depicts a singing lesson or the education of a young Marcus Aurelius.

Even the drafting with thin glazes comes from Leonardo da Vinci, with meticulous attention to details like the hair rendered with subtle brushstrokes.

[5] The driving allegory, often present in works of Giorgione, is in this case music, the spiritual expression of man and the harmony of existence.