polyptych

Opened view of the Ghent Altarpiece. There is a different view when the wings are closed.

A polyptych (from the Greek polu- "many" + ptychē "fold") generally refers to a painting (usually panel painting) which is divided into multiple sections, or panels. (The related terms "diptych" and "triptych" describe a two-part and three-part work of art, respectively. The terms "tetraptych" (4 parts), "pentaptych" (5), "hexaptych" (6), "heptaptych" (7), and "octaptych" (8) are sometimes used.)

"Polyptych" may also refer collectively to all multi-panel paintings. In most works there is a larger central panel called the "main panel", and the other panels are called "side-panels" or "wings". Sometimes, as at Ghent or Isenheim, the hinged panels can be variously arranged to show different "views" or "openings."

Polyptychs were most common with early Renaissance painters, and the majority of polyptychs were designed to be altarpieces in churches and cathedrals. The form was also quite popular among ukiyo-e printmakers of Edo period Japan.

Polyptychs can also refer to certain medieval manuscripts, especially Carolingian, in which the columns on the page are framed with borders that resemble polyptych paintings.

Examples

• The Ghent Altarpiece, completed in 1432 by Hubert van Eyck and Jan van Eyck — probably the most famous polyptych
• The Isenheim Altarpiece by Matthias Grünewald
• The Saint Vincent Panels (1470-1480) by Nuno Gonçalves
• Polyptych of the Misericordia (1445–1462) by Piero della Francesca
• The Last Judgment Polyptych (1450) by Rogier van der Weyden
• Saint Augustine Polyptych (1470) by Perugino
• The Demidoff Altarpiece (1476), by Carlo Crivelli
• St. Dominic Polyptych (1506–1508) by Lorenzo Lotto

In other media

In comic books and comic strips, a polyptych is a strip, or even an entire comic page, in which the background forms a continuous image even though it may be divided into separate panels; a good example is The Perishers, which often uses polyptychs divided into three panels.

Reconstruction of Hieronymus Bosch polyptch

"Fall of the Dammed" before 1490

"Hell" after 1490

"Assent of the Blessed" after 1490

"Terrestrial Paradise" 1500's