Editing Triptych (section)

== In art ==

The triptych form appears in early Christian art, and was a popular standard format for altar paintings from the Middle Ages onwards. Its geographical range was from the eastern [[Byzantine]] churches to the Celtic churches in the west. During the Byzantine period, triptychs were often used for private devotional use, along with other relics such as icons.<ref>2014. ''History of the World in 1,000 Objects.''London, New York. [[Dorling Kindersley|D.K. Publishing]].</ref> Renaissance painters such as [[Hans Memling]] and [[Hieronymus Bosch]] used the form. Sculptors also used it. Triptych forms also allow ease of transport.

From the [[gothic architecture|Gothic]] period onward, both in Europe and elsewhere, altarpieces in churches and cathedrals were often in triptych form. One such cathedral with an altarpiece triptych is [[Llandaff Cathedral]]. The [[Cathedral of Our Lady (Antwerp)|Cathedral of Our Lady]] in [[Antwerp]], Belgium, contains two examples by [[Peter Paul Rubens|Rubens]], and [[Notre Dame de Paris]] is another example of the use of triptych in architecture. The form is echoed by the structure of many ecclesiastical [[stained glass window]]s.

The triptych form's transportability was exploited during World War Two when a private citizens' committee in the United States commissioned painters and sculptors to create portable three-panel hinged altarpieces for use by Christian and Jewish U.S. troops for religious services.<ref name="Murphy, Skolnick 2014">{{cite book |last1=Brawer |first1=Catherine Coleman |last2=Skolnick |first2=Kathrine Murphy |title=The Art Deco murals of Hildreth Meière |date=2014 |publisher=Andrea Monfried Editions |location=New York |isbn=978-0-9910263-0-2 |edition=First}}</ref> By the end of the war, 70 artists had created 460 triptychs. Among the most prolific were [[Violet Oakley]], [[Nina Barr Wheeler]], and [[Hildreth Meiere]].<ref name="Richmond-Moll">{{cite journal |last1=Richmond-Moll |first1=Jeffrey |title=Triptychs at War: Violet Oakley's Victory |journal=Archives of American Art Journal |date=Spring 2018 |volume=57 |issue=1 |pages=22–43 |doi=10.1086/698334 |s2cid=195041325 |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdfplus/10.1086/698334|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The triptych format has been used in non-Christian faiths, including, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism. For example: the triptych ''Hilje-j-Sherif'' displayed at the [[National Museum of Oriental Art]], Rome, Italy, and a page of the ''[[Qur'an]]'' at the [[Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum|Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts]] in Istanbul, Turkey, exemplify [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] religious art adapting the motif.<ref>{{cite book |author=Museum With No Frontiers |author-link=Museum With No Frontiers |publisher=Museum With No Frontiers, Arab Institute for Research and Publishing |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gA3dSlLBG38C&q=islamic+triptych&pg=PA258 |location=Brussels, Belgium, Beirut, Lebanon |year=2007 |title=Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean |page=258 |isbn=9789953369570 |access-date=January 28, 2017}}</ref>  Likewise, Tibetan Buddhists have used it in traditional altars.<ref>{{cite book |title=Tibetan Buddhist Altars: A Pop-Up Gallery of Traditional Art and Wisdom |type=Hardcover |first1=Tad |last1=Wise |first2=Robert |last2=Beers |first3=David A. |last3=Carter |publisher=[[New World Library]]  |date=August 25, 2004 |isbn=978-1577314677 }}</ref>

Although strongly identified as a religious [[altarpiece]] form, triptychs outside that context have been created, some of the best-known examples being works by [[Max Beckmann]] and [[Francis Bacon (artist)|Francis Bacon]]. When Bacon's 1969 triptych, ''[[Three Studies of Lucian Freud]]'', was sold in 2013 for $142.4 million,<ref>{{cite web |title=2013 Live Auction 2791 Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sale |url=https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5755778 |website=Christies.com |publisher=Christie's |access-date=15 March 2022 |date=November 11, 2013}}</ref> it was the highest price ever paid for an artwork at auction at that time.<ref>{{cite news|last=Vogel|first=Carol|title=Bacon's Study of Freud Sells for $142.4 Million|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 12, 2013|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/13/arts/design/bacons-study-of-freud-sells-for-more-than-142-million.html|access-date=November 12, 2013}}</ref> That record was broken in May 2015 by $179.4 million for [[Pablo Picasso]]'s 1955 painting ''[[Les Femmes d'Alger|Les Femmes d’Alger]]''.<ref>[https://digg.com/2015/modigliani-nu-couche-140-million A History Of Insane Art Prices] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228040326/http://digg.com/2015/modigliani-nu-couche-140-million/ |date=2016-12-28 }} Digg.com Retrieved 16 November 2015.</ref>