Polyptych
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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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.
Examples
- The Stefaneschi Polyptych, c. 1320, by Giotto
- The Ghent Altarpiece, completed in 1432 by Hubert van Eyck and Jan van Eyck
- 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.
