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A triptych (pronounced "trip-tick," from the Greek tri- "three" + ptychēe "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together. The central panel is the most important one, and this is flanked on either side by two lesser but related paintings. The whole is intended to be greater than the sum of the parts.
The triptych form arises from early Christian art, and was the standard format for altar paintings from the Middle Ages onwards. Its geographical range was from the eastern Byzantine churches through to the English Celtic church in the west. Renaissance Painters and Sculptors such as Hans Memling and Hieronymous Bosch used the form.
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