Triptych: The Three-Panel Painting From Byzantine Icons to Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon's Three Studies of Lucian Freud, painted in 1969, sold at auction in November 2013 for $142.4 million. It was, at the time, the highest price ever paid for a painting at auction. The work is a triptych: three canvases, each showing Lucian Freud seated in a chair, painted from different angles. The left and right panels show Freud turned toward the center. The center panel shows him facing the viewer. The three panels create a rotating, cinematic view of a single subject, and the format is not incidental to the effect. Bacon chose the triptych because it is the most narratively charged format in Western painting. For 700 years, triptychs have been used to tell stories in three parts, and Bacon understood that the format carries its own meaning regardless of the subject.

A triptych is a work of art divided into three sections, typically a larger central panel flanked by two smaller wings, often hinged so the wings fold over the center. The word comes from the Greek "tri" (three) and "ptyche" (fold). Triptychs originated in early Christian art as portable devotional objects and became the standard format for altarpieces from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance. The central panel usually shows the primary subject, while the side panels show related figures, scenes, or donor portraits. When closed, the exterior panels display a different set of images, often painted in grisaille. In the 20th century, the triptych format was adopted by secular artists like Bacon and Max Beckmann, who used it for its narrative and structural possibilities without any religious intent.

This entry covers what a triptych is, how it functioned as an altarpiece, who made the most significant ones, and how the format migrated from churches to modern galleries.

What Is a Triptych and How Does It Work?

The triptych is structured around a central panel and two wings. The wings can be fixed, but more commonly they are hinged, allowing them to fold closed over the central panel. This creates two distinct viewing states: open and closed. When open, the triptych displays its full interior, with the central panel as the focal point and the wings extending the composition on either side. When closed, the exterior panels present a different image, often simpler and more restrained.

This dual-state mechanism was liturgical. In medieval and Renaissance churches, the triptych altarpiece would be opened on Sundays and feast days, revealing the full painted interior to the congregation. On ordinary weekdays, it stayed closed, showing the exterior paintings. The transition from closed to open was itself a ritual act, performed by the priest or sacristan, and the congregation experienced the unveiling of the interior as a moment of revelation.

The central panel typically shows the primary subject: the Madonna and Child, the Crucifixion, the Last Judgment, or a saint in glory. The wings show related figures or scenes. In Netherlandish triptychs, the wings often show donor portraits kneeling in prayer, presented by patron saints. In Italian triptychs, the wings typically show saints standing in a sacra conversazione, a "sacred conversation" between holy figures. Below the central panel, a predella may contain small narrative scenes.

Britannica notes that the triptych form "appears in early Christian art, and was a popular standard format for altar paintings from the Middle Ages onwards," with a geographical range "from the eastern Byzantine churches to the Celtic churches in the west." Read the full entry at Britannica.

Origins and History

The triptych emerged in early Christian and Byzantine art as a portable devotional format. Small hinged triptychs with carved ivory or painted panels were used for private prayer, along with icons and other relics. The portability was a practical advantage: a hinged triptych folds flat for travel and opens for worship, protecting the interior paintings in transit.

From the Gothic period onward, triptychs became the standard altarpiece format in churches and cathedrals across Europe. The form spread from Byzantine churches in the east to Celtic churches in the west. In Italy, the triptych altarpiece developed through the 13th and 14th centuries, with painters like Duccio, Giotto, and Simone Martini producing increasingly complex versions. The Stefaneschi Triptych by Giotto (c. 1320, Vatican Museums) is an early example, painted on both sides so it could be viewed from the front and the rear.

In the Netherlands, the triptych reached its fullest development in the 15th and 16th centuries. A study published through JSTOR, Early Netherlandish Triptychs: A Study in Patronage, traces the emergence and evolution of the Netherlandish triptych through works by Rogier van der Weyden, Dieric Bouts, Hugo van der Goes, and Hans Memling. The study examines how the triptych format served specific patronage needs, from private devotion to public altarpieces. Read more at JSTOR.

By the 17th century, the triptych was becoming unusual. Peter Paul Rubens painted several large triptych altarpieces for Antwerp Cathedral, including the Raising of the Cross (1610-1611), the Descent from the Cross (1612-1614), and the Resurrection triptych. These were among the last major triptych altarpieces, and Rubens used the format with a full awareness of its history. The Counter-Reformation favored single-panel altarpieces that could be seen clearly from a distance, and the hinged triptych gradually disappeared from church use.

In the 20th century, the triptych was revived by secular artists. Max Beckmann used the format for works like Departure (1932-1933, Museum of Modern Art, New York). Francis Bacon used it repeatedly, from Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion (1944) to his late triptychs of the 1980s. Bill Viola used the triptych format in video art, including the Nantes Triptych (1992). The format's narrative structure, three parts that create a temporal or spatial sequence, made it useful for artists working outside religious contexts.

Key Artists and Paintings

Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450-1516)

Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights (c. 1490-1510, Prado, Madrid) is the most famous triptych in art history. The left panel shows the Garden of Eden with God presenting Eve to Adam. The center panel shows a surreal landscape filled with nude figures, giant fruits, and bizarre creatures, interpreted variously as a warning against lust or a vision of paradise lost. The right panel shows Hell, with grotesque punishments. The exterior panels, visible when closed, show the earth on the third day of Creation, painted in grisaille. No other triptych uses the three-panel format to create such a dramatic narrative arc from innocence to damnation.

Robert Campin (c. 1378-1444)

Campin's Merode Altarpiece (c. 1427-1432, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) is a seminal Early Netherlandish triptych. The central panel shows the Annunciation, with the Angel Gabriel entering the Virgin's domestic interior. The left panel shows the donor and his wife kneeling in a garden. The right panel shows Joseph in his carpentry workshop. The triptych is notable for its domestic setting, its obsessive detail, and the way the three panels create a unified spatial environment rather than three separate scenes.

Hugo van der Goes (c. 1440-1482)

The Portinari Altarpiece (c. 1475-1479, Uffizi, Florence) is a massive triptych commissioned by Tommaso Portinari, a Florentine banker in Bruges. The central panel shows the Adoration of the Shepherds. The left wing shows Portinari and his sons with patron saints. The right wing shows his wife and daughters. The triptych was shipped from Bruges to Florence in 1483, and its arrival in Florence had a profound impact on Italian painters, who had never seen Northern oil painting of this sophistication. The triptych is a key work in the transmission of Netherlandish techniques to Italy.

Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)

Rubens' Descent from the Cross (1612-1614, Antwerp Cathedral) is a Baroque triptych that uses the three-panel format for dramatic effect. The central panel shows Christ's body being lowered from the cross, a swirling composition of muscular figures and white linen. The wings show the Visitation and the Presentation in the Temple. The triptych demonstrates how the format could serve the emotional intensity of Baroque art while maintaining its structural logic.

Francis Bacon (1909-1992)

Bacon used the triptych format more than any other modern painter. Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion (1944, Tate) established his career. Three Studies of Lucian Freud (1969) set an auction record in 2013. Bacon's triptychs typically show a single subject from three angles or in three moments, creating a narrative of violence, isolation, or transformation. The format allowed Bacon to present multiple views simultaneously, something a single canvas could not do. His triptychs are secular, but they inherit the narrative power of the altarpiece format.

How to Spot a Triptych in a Museum

Look for three panels. The central panel is usually larger, and the two wings are usually hinged to it. If the triptych is displayed open, you will see all three panels side by side. If it is displayed closed, you will see only the exterior, which may be painted in grisaille or show a different composition.

In museums, many triptychs are displayed permanently open, since the interior is the more visually striking view. Some museums display both states by opening the triptych on certain days and closing it on others, or by using photographic reproductions to show the closed view alongside the open one.

The panel paintings used for historical triptychs were oak in Northern Europe and poplar in Italy. The paint was tempera before the adoption of oil, and oil after Van Eyck's innovations in the early 15th century. The frames were typically made of the same wood as the panels and were often carved with architectural elements, pinnacles, and gilded decoration.

Related Terms and Formats

The triptych is one of three multi-panel formats. A diptych has two panels and was primarily a personal devotional object. A polyptych has four or more panels and was typically a large public altarpiece. The triptych occupies the middle ground: large enough for public use, small enough for private chapels, and structurally balanced in a way that the other formats are not.

The Gothic art period established the triptych as an altarpiece format. The Early Renaissance saw its fullest development in both Italy and the Netherlands. The Baroque period produced the last major triptych altarpieces, by Rubens. The predella at the base of a triptych provided additional narrative scenes below the main panels.

For more context, read our blog post on Renaissance art and the birth of modern art, or explore our guide to Baroque art and the Catholic Church to see how the triptych format served Counter-Reformation purposes.

See Triptychs in Person

The Prado in Madrid holds Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights, displayed open with the exterior visible in an adjacent photographic reproduction. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has the Merode Altarpiece. The Uffizi in Florence has the Portinari Altarpiece. Antwerp Cathedral still holds Rubens' Descent from the Cross in its original location. The Tate in London has several Bacon triptychs.

For the earliest triptychs, the Vatican Museums hold Giotto's Stefaneschi Triptych. The Uffizi also holds Simone Martini's Annunciation Triptych (1333), one of the finest Sienese examples. For more on multi-panel painting, read our entries on diptych and polyptych, or explore our post on famous paintings explained to learn the stories behind some of the most recognized triptychs in art.