The Twelve Ages of a Man: The Last Three Ages (54-72), or Winter ca. 1515 Probably after a design by the Workshop of Bernard van Orley Netherlandish This is the fourth in a set of four tapestries illustrating the life of a man as divided into twelve periods of six years. Aeolus, ruler of the winds, in the center, stands for the wintertime of life. The symbols and occupations of three months, October, November, and December, represent the years from ages 54 to 72, traditionally identified as the final three ages of a man, equated with old age, infirmity and death. Aeoluss two attendants may be personifications of Snow and Frost. The owl symbolizes sleep and death.Each of the three vertical sections includes a roundel at the top surrounded by twenty-four hourglasses on a ground that is light above and dark below, in varied proportions, according to the seasons. Each roundel contains a sign of the zodiac, Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn, and a figure variously symbolizing October, Nov