What is Triptych?
A '''triptych''' is a series of three separate paintings that together form a story. The word comes from the [[Greek language|Greek]] adjective ''triptukhon'' (three-fold), from ''tri'', (three) and ''ptysso'', (to fold) or ''ptyx'', (fold)<ref>{{cite web|title=triptych|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=triptych&allowed_in_frame=0|publisher=[[Online Etymology Dictionary]]}}</ref> The paintings are usually joined together, with hinges, so that they can be folded shut or displayed open. The middle [[painting]] is usually larger, although they can be of equal size. A triptych is usually an art work, but the word can be used for anything in three parts which join together to make a single item. <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/triptych |title=Triptych |quote=Although triptych originally described a specific type of Roman writing tablet that had three hinged sections, it is not surprising that the idea was generalized first to a type of painting, and then to anything composed of three parts. |work=[[Merriam-Webster Dictionary]] |access-date=January 28, 2017}}</ref> ==Examples== The French and Burgundian Early Netherlandish painter Simon Marmion painted a [[diptych]] on the life of St Bertin which became a de facto Triptych [[File:Simon Marmion, Saint Bertin Altarpiece, ca 1459, Reconstruction of side B.jpg|295px|Simon Marmion, Saint Bertin Altarpiece, ca 1459, Reconstruction of side B.]] [[File:Simon Marmion, Saint Bertin Altarpiece, ca 1459, Reconstruction of side A.jpg|295px|Simon Marmion, Saint Bertin Altarpiece, ca 1459, Reconstruction of side A.]] [[File:Simon Marmion, Saint Bertin Altarpiece, ca 1459, Reconstruction.jpg|295px|Simon Marmion, Saint Bertin Altarpiece, ca 1459, Reconstruction.]] Left:reconstruction of the outside panels; center:reconstruction of the inside panels; right reconstruction of the Saint Bertin Altarpiece. The most important painted work attributed to Simon Marmion is the [[altarpiece]] commissioned in 1455-1459, for the main altar of the abbey