For those who are a little familiar with the visual arts, as well as the music and terminology of words, the term “triptych” may be heard. But for people who are far from the history of classical painting, engraving, sculpture and music, this word will be completely unknown, and when they first hear it, they ask themselves: “What is this ... triptych?”. To understand what it means, just study the material below.
Triptych - what is it
The word "triptych" came into the great and mighty Russian language from ancient Greek, and literally translates as "folded three times", "consisting of three additions."
In modern Russian, a triptych is a work of art that consists of three parts that are connected by a single idea or plot. Triptychs can be not only paintings, but also musical and literary works, films, bas-reliefs and sculptures. In church art, the triptych is understood as an icon, which consists of three wings. The “brothers” of the triptych are diptych - a creation that combines its two components, a quadriptych that has four parts and a polytype that can consist of more than four pieces. All these varieties of organization of compositional space are united by one thing - each piece divided into several parts necessarily has a single idea for all its elements.
This way of creating creation allows an art lover to look at the familiar from a completely different angle. The authors of the triptychs seem to make their fans think about what is common between all parts of their work, what differences can be found in them, why the creator of the work decided to make three elements out of a single whole.
The triptych is an attempt to popularize their creations and art as a whole, because conceptually combined works cause much more interest among people interested in creativity. They raise many questions, most of which the authors intriguingly leave unanswered, allowing critics to only put forward theories about what was the prerequisite for creating such a work.
Visual Arts: Triptych of paintings and works of applied art
Many famous artists turned to this method of creating their paintings. Probably one of the most mysterious three-part works of art is a painting by Jerome Bosch "Garden of Earthly Delights", written in 1500-1510. and shrouded in many myths and assumptions about its meaning. This is a triptych, which consists of three wooden wings, the left and right parts of which, folding, cover the central one and form an image of the world created by God on the third day.
In addition to oil paintings, triptychs were created from other materials. For example, in the X-XI century in Byzantium, a triptych so skillfully made of ivory was created that this work still excites the hearts of researchers and connoisseurs of beauty. Its author remains unknown. This triptych depicts the apostles, saints, Jesus Christ, the Virgin, and John the Baptist.
Triptych in music
Many people often believe that the triptych is a direct connection only with the paintings, but they forget that this is also a cycle of three pieces of music. For example, composer Claude Debussy, impressed by the beauty of Paris, created the Nocturnes triptych, which included three symphonic works under the names of Clouds, Festivities, and Sirens. The opening triptych play "Clouds" displays the clouds of the Parisian sky, casting melancholy and monotonous weather. "Festivities" is a more dynamic piece and contrasts with the previous part. Replacing the second part of the musical triptych, the play "Sirens" is full of moonlight and the brilliance of night waves, it simultaneously praises the beauty of these mythical creations.
Triptych Photos
Contemporary art should not be overlooked when it comes to triptychs: photographers often use this method in the compositional organization of their work. Most often in the center they have the largest work or the one bearing the greatest semantic load.
Photos in the triptych tell the viewer a short story, a sketch from the lives of people, animals, nature. In such compositions, diversity can occur, that is, photos of a distant, near and general plan are combined, which gives a common dynamics.