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triptych

 
Dictionary: trip·tych   (trĭp'tĭk) pronunciation
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n.
  1. A work consisting of three painted or carved panels that are hinged together.
  2. A hinged writing tablet consisting of three leaves, used in ancient Rome.

[From Greek triptukhos, threefold : tri-, tri- + ptux, ptukh-, fold.]


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Architecture and Landscaping: triptych
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‘Picture or carving in three compartments side by side, the lateral ones being usually subordinate’, though connected in subject, ‘and hinged so as to fold over the central one’, often forming a late-medieval altarpiece, called Flügelaltar in Germany (where some of the finest carved and painted examples can be found). When closed, the part visible (i.e. the backs of the folding leaves) often displayed grisaille paintings.

Bibliography

  • Chilvers Osborne & Farr (eds.) (1988)
  • Gwilt (1903)
  • Oxford English Dictionary (1933)

The full bibliography for this book is available to download as a pdf file.
Download the bibliography for A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (PDF: 1.2MB)

WordNet: triptych
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: art consisting of a painting or carving (especially an altarpiece) on three panels (usually hinged together)

Wikipedia: Triptych
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
For other uses, see Triptych (disambiguation).
The most famous of Byzantine ivory triptychs: Harbaville Triptych (10th century).

A triptych (pronounced /ˈtrɪptɪk/ TRIP-tik, from the Greek τρίπτυχο, from tri- "three" + ptychē "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and folded. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works. The middle panel is typically the largest and it is flanked by two smaller related works, although there are triptyches of equal-sized panels.

While the root of the word is the ancient Greek "triptychos", the word arose into the medieval period from the name for an Ancient Roman writing tablet, which had two hinged panels flanking a central one. The form can also be used for pendant jewelry.

Contents

In art

The Verdun Altar in Klosterneuburg Monastery

The triptych form arises from early Christian art, and was a popular standard format for altar paintings from the Middle Ages onwards. Its geographical range was from the eastern Byzantine churches to the English Celtic churches in the west. Renaissance painters and sculptors such as Hans Memling and Hieronymus Bosch used the form.

From the Gothic period onward, both in Europe and elsewhere, altarpieces in churches and cathedrals were often in triptych form. One such cathedral with an altarpiece triptych is Llandaff Cathedral. The Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp, Belgium, contains two examples by Rubens, and Notre Dame de Paris is another example of the use of triptych in architecture. One can also see the form echoed by the structure of many ecclesiastical stained glass windows. Although most famous as a altarpiece form, tryptiches outside that context have been created, most prominently by Hieronymus Bosch, Max Beckmann, and Francis Bacon. Famous examples include:

Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion. Francis Bacon, 1944.

An ancient means of writing

A triptych is also a hinged, three-leaved wood or wax tablet which in ancient times was written on with a stylus.

See also

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Translations: Triptych
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - triptykon (altertavle), fløjbillede

Nederlands (Dutch)
drieluik

Français (French)
n. - triptyque

Deutsch (German)
n. - Triptychon, dreiteiliges (Altar)bild, dreiteilige zusammenklappbare Schreibtafel

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (για έργα τέχνης κ.λπ.) τρίπτυχο

Italiano (Italian)
trittico

Português (Portuguese)
n. - tríptico (m)

Русский (Russian)
триптих

Español (Spanish)
n. - tríptico

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - triptyk

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
三张相联, 三幅一联

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 三張相聯, 三幅一聯

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 석장 이어진 그림, 3개 한 벌, 3부작

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 三つ折りの書字板, トリプティック

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) أللوح ألثلاثي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮תמונה גילוף על שלושה לוחות ששניים מהם מתקפלים ומשמשים כתמונת-מזבח (בכנסייה), מערכת של שלוש יצירות אמנות, שלושה לוחות-כתיבה מחוברים זה לזה‬

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Architecture and Landscaping. A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Copyright © 1999, 2006 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Triptych".  Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more