A triptych is a work of art with three panels, usually hinged, with related imagery. The middle panel is often largest. Triptychs were commonly used in medieval and Renaissance Christian artworks. They allowed flexibility for transport and appeared frequently in churches as altarpieces from the Middle Ages onward. Examples include works by Hans Memling featuring The Last Judgment and Hugo van der Goes' Adoration of the Shepherds.

1. Triptychs
The Beauty of Three

2. The word triptych comes from…
• Ancient Greek
• Tri (three) + ptychos(plates)
Memling’s
The Last
Judgment

3. A triptych is…
• A work of art that is made of three panels and
can be folded in on each other with hinges.
The middle panel is usually larger than the
other two.
Hugo Vander Goes’ The Adoration of the Shepherds

4. The subjects of all three parts are related.
Visitation Jesus is taken down from the cross Presentation

5. The triptych is an early form of
Christian art, from the Middle Ages
onward.
The Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch

6. Renaissance painters and sculptors such as Hans
Memling and Hieronymus Bosch used the form.
Triptych forms also allow ease of transport.
The Haywain Triptych by Bosch

7. From that time onward, you can see
triptychs in many churches throughout
the world
The Virgin
and the
Child in
Majesty in
the
Cologne
Cathedral.

8. The Cathedral of Our Lady in
Antwerp, Belgium, contains two
examples by Rubens
The
Raising
of the
Cross by
Peter
Paul
Rubens.

9. One such cathedral with an altarpiece
triptych is Llandaff Cathedral.
Rossetti’s
The
Seed of
David in
Llandaff
Cathedral.

10. and Notre Dame de Paris is another
example of the use of triptych in
architecture

11. Make Your Own Triptych
• You are going to make your own triptych
based on our Salvation timeline. Choose
three different events in Jesus’ Paschal
Mystery and create a triptych.
• Remember that your most important or main
image should be larger and in the center.
• Draw first and then color using crayons or
colored pencils.