Triptychs

The Beauty of Three

The word triptych comes from…

• Ancient Greek• Tri (three) + ptychos(plates)

Memling’s The Last Judgment

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

The subjects of all three parts are related.

Visitation Jesus is taken down from the cross Presentation

The triptych is an early form of Christian art, from the Middle Ages onward.

The Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch

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

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.

The Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp, Belgium, contains two examples by Rubens

The Raising of the Cross by Peter Paul Rubens.

One such cathedral with an altarpiece triptych is Llandaff Cathedral.

Rossetti’s The Seed of David in Llandaff Cathedral.

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

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.