This article is about the art format. For the medieval document concerning lands, see Polyptych (document).
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Opened view of the Ghent Altarpiece: Jan van Eyck (1432). There is a different view when the wings are closed.Polyptych, made by the workshop of the Lübeck master Hermen Rode in 1478–1481, at the High Altar in St. Nicholas Church in Tallinn, Estonia
A polyptych (/ˈpɒlɪptɪk/POL-ip-tik; Greek: poly- "many" and ptychē "fold") is a painting (usually panel painting) which is divided into sections, or panels. Specifically, a diptych is a two-part work of art; a triptych is a three-part work; a tetraptych or quadriptych has four parts, whereas a polyptych describes any work of art formed of more than one constitutive part.
Historically, polyptychs typically displayed one "central" or "main" panel that was usually the largest of the attachments; the other panels are called "side" panels, or "wings". Sometimes, as evident in the Ghent and Isenheim works (see below), the hinged panels can be varied in arrangement to show different "views" or "openings" in the piece. The upper panels often depict static scenes, while the lower register, the predella, often depict small narrative scenes.
Polyptychs were most commonly created by early Renaissance painters, the majority of whom designed their works to be altarpieces in churches and cathedrals. The polyptych form of art was also quite popular among ukiyo-e printmakers of Edo period Japan.
Some medieval manuscripts are polyptychs, particularly Carolingian works, in which the columns on the page are framed with borders that resemble polyptych paintings.
A polyptych (/ˈpɒlɪptɪk/ POL-ip-tik; Greek: poly- "many" and ptychē "fold") is a painting (usually panel painting) which is divided into sections, or...
The Polyptych of the Misericordia is a painting conserved in the Museo Civico di Sansepolcro in the town of Sansepolcro, region of Tuscany, Italy. The...
The Tarlati polyptych is a Renaissance polyptych painted by the Italian artist Pietro Lorenzetti, with tempera and gold on panel, in 1320. It is located...
The Polyptych of Irminon, also known as the Polyptych of Saint-Germain, is an inventory of properties compiled around 823 by Irminon, the abbot of the...
The Saint Vincent Ferrer Altarpiece is a tempera-on-panel painting by Giovanni Bellini (possibly with some collaboration by another artist on the scenes...
The Annunziata Polyptych is a painting cycle started by Filippino Lippi and finished by Pietro Perugino, whose central panel is now divided between the...
The Badia Polyptych (Italian: Polittico di Badia) is a painting by the Italian artist Giotto, painted around 1300 and housed in the Uffizi Gallery of...
The Stefaneschi Altarpiece is a triptych by the Italian painter Giotto, from c. 1320. It was commissioned by Cardinal Giacomo Gaetani Stefaneschi to serve...
together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works. The middle panel is typically the...
The Polyptych of Perugia (also known as Polyptych of St. Anthony) is a complex of paintings by the Italian Renaissance master Piero della Francesca, finished...
The Zadar Polyptych is an oil-on-panel by Italian artist Vittore Carpaccio, painted around 1480–1490. It is now in the Museum of Sacred Art of the Zadar...
The Averoldi Polyptych, also known as the Averoldi Altarpiece, is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Titian, dating to 1520–1522, in the basilica...
with Saints Polyptych is a five piece Madonna polyptych by Italian Renaissance artist Duccio di Buoninsegna, also referred to as Polyptych no. 47 by Duccio...
The Recanati Polyptych (Italian: Polittico di Recanati) is an oil-on-panel painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Lorenzo Lotto, executed in 1506–1508...
(Master Francke), c. 1410 Altarpiece of Saint Barbara (Pérez), c. 1410–1425 Polyptych of Saint Barbara (Palma Vecchio), c. 1523–1524 This article includes a...
The gilded three-story altarpiece, the Arezzo (or Aretine or Tarlati) Polyptych, was commissioned in 1320 by Bishop Guido Tarlati for the Santa Maria...
The Valle Romita Polyptych (Italian: Polittico di Valle Romita) is a painting by the Italian late Gothic painter Gentile da Fabriano, dating from c. 1410-1412...
The Certosa di Pavia Altarpiece was an oil on panel altarpiece by Pietro Perugino. It dates to around 1496 to 1500 and three of its panels are now in the...
The Polyptych of Lusina (Polish: Poliptyk z Lusiny, German Polyptychon aus Lusina), late-Gothic retable, polyptych embellished with paintings and bas-reliefs...
tempera and gold on panel, 1285–1295 Duccio, Madonna and Child with saints polyptych, tempera and gold on wood, 1311–1318 Bernardo Daddi, Christ Enthroned...
San Gregorio Polyptych is a tempera-on-wood polyptych painting by the Italian Renaissance master Antonello da Messina, completed in 1473 and housed in...
Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice, Italy. This painting is part of a polyptych of four panels entitled Visions of the Hereafter. The others are Terrestrial...
Trinita Maestà Duccio: Rucellai Madonna Giotto: Ognissanti Madonna, Badia Polyptych Simone Martini: Annunciation with St. Margaret and St. Ansanus Ambrogio...
a contract for the Polyptych of Saint Augustine in the church of Sant'Agostino in Sansepolcro. The central panel of this polyptych is lost, and the four...
Diptych, 1333 Saint Catherine of Alexandria Polyptych, 1319 Virgin and Child with Saints (Boston Polyptych), c. 1321–25 The Miracle of the Child Attacked...
Intercisco, but these works have disappeared. Vanni's most famous work is a polyptych in the church of Santo Stefano alla Lizza. The central panel contains...
the hands of assistants, including Gaddi himself. It is an elaborate polyptych, depicting the Coronation of the Virgin surrounded by a crowded Glory...
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