A triptych (pronounced "trip-tick" IPA: [ trip'tik] (or US: [ 'tɹʷɪp.dɪk ]) from the Greek τρίπτυχο [ tri'ptu.xo ] 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 diptych has two panels. The middle panel is the larger one and is flanked by two smaller, but related, works. 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.
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:
- The Annunciation (Simon Martini)
- The Merode Altarpiece (Robert Campin)
- The Garden of Earthly Delights and The Hay Wain (Bosch)
- The Portinari Altarpiece (Hugo Van Der Goes)
- The Raising of the Cross (Rubens)
- Departure (Beckmann)
- Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifxion (Bacon)
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