To understand the concept of "triptych", first we will find out what explanatory dictionaries say about it. Generally, the explanation looks something like this: a triptych - three parts of a creation, united by something common.
In the Russian language, the word τρίπτυχος came from the ancient Greek language. It is interpreted as three-sided, triple, triple-folded, with three sides, consisting of three planks, i.e. the number "three" appears without fail, which suggests that this number is not accidental.
The number "three"
And, indeed, the triplet in the meaning of the trinity plays an important role in many philosophical teachings and beliefs. Let us remember the feast of the Holy Trinity in honor of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, which revealed the triple nature of God: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the number "three" has a sacred meaning in Christianity: three crucifixions on Calvary, the resurrection of Christ on the third day, three wise men came to greet the birth of the baby Jesus Christ, three virtues - Faith, Hope, Love, etc.
In folklore, everyday life, sayings, superstitions and literature, the number "3" is often mentioned in a special, sometimes magical sense: to spit three times over the left shoulder so as not to be jinxed, "God loves the Trinity", a kiss three times, clink glasses three times, "three girls under the window was spun late in the evening,”etc.
What can we say about the meaning of the triplet in science: three-dimensionality of space, three states of matter, three phases of the Moon and much more.
Returning to the analysis of what a triptych is, let's look in more detail on the example of some areas in which this concept is used.
Triptychs for altars and folding icons
The form of a triptych in the Middle Ages was actively used to decorate temples. It was most popular in the Christian art of Western Europe of the 14-16th centuries. Triptychs with plots on a religious theme were made for temples and placed at altars. These could be picturesque three-part canvases carved on wood or large stained glass compositions.
In a smaller size, the three-part form of the image has found application in the manufacture of folding icons. When folded, the side flaps with auxiliary, explanatory plots cover the central part with the main image. Such an icon is called a fold.
Triptych in the visual arts
The triptych came to the visual arts from religious painting. It can be a composition of three works of different types of art: paintings, sculptures, bas-reliefs, drawings, etc., which complement each other and combine into a single whole through a common idea, theme, plot, or the same characters. Most often, the middle part is the most basic, it stands out for the size and importance of the content.
Hieronymus Bosch's “Carriage of Hay” is an example of three paintings connected by the same theme of the Fall. On the central panel, the human race is shown allegorically, mired in sin and a cart pulled by demons towards the right panel. It depicts hell. And on the left is the beginning of the fall of humanity in the images of Adam and Eve.
Three sections of the triptych "The Resurrection of Christ" by Mikhail Nesterov, written for the Martha and Mary Convent, are united by another plot - the events taking place on the morning of the Lord's resurrection. Each subsequent separate image continues the narrative begun in the previous episode. As a result, a whole story is obtained: on the left side there is a surprised Mary Magdalene, who came to the tomb of her teacher and found that he was not at the burial place. On the central one, an angel invites you to look at the stone on which the body of Christ still lay on the eve. On the right section of the triptych, the end of the story is the meeting of Mary and the risen Christ.
Three canvases by Francis Bacon are united in a triptych by the image of the same person - the British artist Lucian Freud, but sitting on a chair in different poses.
British sculptor John Edgar created a group of three terracotta portraits. On the triptych "The Environment" scientist and ecologist James Lovelock, philosopher Mary Midgley and writer Richard Maby. The common thing that brought these people into one work is their efforts to influence the ecological behavior of humans in relation to nature.
Triptych in philately
The triptych also found application in philately. These are three stamps (coupons) located on one stamp sheet, different in image, color or denomination, but on the same theme or, for example, with one text on all three. In philatelic terminology, a triptych is also called a triple or a coupling.
Triptych in literature, cinema and music
As for the non-visual arts. If the author, solving a creative problem, creates three poems or three works in prose, united by a common concept, continuity of the plot line, the same characters, then this is also a kind of triptych. In the literature, this is called a trilogy (French trilogia). One of the definitions of the concept of "trilogy" sounds like this - it is a collection of three works of art or science, united by the continuity of the plot, or by a common idea. In antiquity, the trilogy united only tragedies connected by a single plot. Now it doesn't have to be tragedies.
An example in music is the triptych-opera by Alexander Zhurbin “Metamorphoses of Love: Loyalty. Treason. Erotica . The opera consists of three parts, united by the theme of love: three stories of three great people.
An ideal example of a trilogy is three films by New Zealand director Peter Jackson in the fantasy genre The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King based on the novel, and also a trilogy by the English writer John Tolkien.