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What does triptych mean in art?
3 Answers

It means three paintings painted together and meant to hang together. Often a triptych would have the main centerpiece and two smaller pieces on the left and right

David Brooker Fine ArtFebruary 23, 2021
A triptych is a three panel art work that is hung or displayed together in a particular order. The artist creates a work across three sections that connect that give the appearance of unity in design and construction.

Glenn Green GalleriesFebruary 24, 2021
A triptych is a piece of art (usually a painting or photograph) that’s separated into three distinct parts or panels. A lot of art from the Christian art from the Bysantine era are triptychs.
1stDibs ExpertAugust 17, 2021
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View All QuestionsShop for Art Abstract Triptych on 1stDibs
Abstract Triptych
By Stuart Bigley
Located in Germantown, NY
Stuart Bigley is an artist based in New York’s beautiful Hudson Valley. He has been making and showing his artwork for over 40 years. During this time he also co-founded and ran the ...
Category
1970s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Materials
Acrylic Polymer, Canvas, Oil
"Abstract Triptych"
Located in Zofingen, AG
This is a colourful abstract triptych. Each painting is framed in a black wooden frame, ready to
Category
2010s Abstract Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
"Abstract Triptych"
Located in Zofingen, AG
This is a colourful abstract triptych. Each painting is framed in a black wooden frame, ready to
Category
2010s Abstract Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Abstract Composition Triptych
Located in Astoria, NY
Robert O'Meara (American, XX-XXI), Abstract Composition, Triptych in White and Blue, Oil on Canvas
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Abstract Triptych
By Stuart Bigley
Located in Germantown, NY
Stuart Bigley is an artist based in New York’s beautiful Hudson Valley. He has been making and showing his artwork for over 40 years. During this time he also co-founded and ran the ...
Category
1970s Abstract Paintings
Materials
Acrylic Polymer, Canvas, Oil
Abstract Composition Triptych
Located in Astoria, NY
Robert O'Meara (American, 1957-2024), Abstract Composition Triptych, Oil on Canvas, unsigned, with
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Shop More art from David Brooker Fine Art on 1stDibs
19th century English Cottage landscape
Located in Woodbury, CT
F. Walters (British, 19th Century)
Cottage Landscape with Figures and Pond
Oil on canvas, signed lower left
English School, circa 1880
Presented in an ornate 19th-century carved and gilded frame
This serene and expansive rural landscape by 19th-century British artist F. Walters captures the gentle charm of the English country...
Category
1890s Victorian Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
English 19th century English Farm with shire Clydesdale horses in a landscape
By John Frederick Herring Sr.
Located in Woodbury, CT
English School
Farmyard Scene with Horses and Goat
Oil on panel, unsigned
The Circle of John Frederick Herring Sr.
Circa 1880
Presented in a later gilt and painted frame
This finely rendered 19th-century English farmyard scene captures the quiet dignity of rural life, with a group of three horses—white, chestnut, and black—gathered beneath a tree in the warm light of late afternoon. A small goat stands to one side near a rustic stable, adding a note of charming domesticity to the composition. The surrounding landscape, with its distant hills and careful play of shadow and cloud, speaks to the artist’s sensitivity to atmosphere and detail.
Though unsigned, the painting is executed in a manner closely aligned with the work of John Frederick Herring Senior, one of Britain’s most celebrated animal painters of the Victorian era. The careful modelling of the horses, their distinctive postures and anatomy, and the tranquil farm setting are all hallmarks of Herring’s influence. Painted in oils on a wooden panel, the surface retains a fine, even gloss and a warm palette typical of the period.
The composition is both balanced and lyrical: the interplay of form and gesture among the animals invites the viewer into a moment of repose between work and activity, emblematic of Victorian ideals of harmony between man, beast, and the land.
A delightful example of 19th-century English rural painting...
Category
1880s Victorian Animal Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
Antique 19th century English fishing vessels In the English Channel
By William Henry Williamson
Located in Woodbury, CT
William Henry Williamson (British, fl. mid to late 19th Century)
Fishing Boats off the English Coast
Oil on canvas, signed lower left
Circa 1870–80
Presented in a period gilt frame ...
Category
1880s Victorian Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
19th century Portrait of a Bulldog Mum with puppies in a barn interior playing
Located in Woodbury, CT
Attributed to Edwin Loder (British, fl. mid–late 19th Century)
Mother Dog and Puppies in a Stable Interior
Oil on canvas, unsigned
English School, circa 1880
Presented in a period-st...
Category
1880s Victorian Animal Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
19th century English still life of fruit on a mossy bank landscape
By Vincent Clare
Located in Woodbury, CT
Vincent Clare (British, 1855–1930)
Still Life of Fruit on a Mossy Bank
Oil on canvas, signed lower right
Circa 1870
Presented in a richly carved and gilded 19th-century style frame
...
Category
1850s Victorian Still-life Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
19th century English landscape with Horse Racing, Possibly the Epsom Derby
By Samuel Henry Alken
Located in Woodbury, CT
Samuel Henry Alken (1810–1894)
Horse Racing Scene, Possibly the Epsom Derby
Oil on board, unsigned
Attributed, English school circa 1840
Presented in a later gilt frame with beaded inner edge
This dynamic mid-19th century racing scene, attributed to Samuel Henry Alken—also known as Henry Alken Junior—captures the high-stakes moment just before the thundering release of horses and riders at the starting line. A tightly packed field of brightly jacketed jockeys leans forward with urgent anticipation, the taut muscles of their mounts echoing the gathering tension. In the foreground, a race marshal gestures dramatically to signal the start, his stance underscoring the energy about to be unleashed.
Though unsigned, the work bears the unmistakable hallmarks of Samuel Henry Alken’s hand: vigorous composition, attention to equine form, and a sharp eye for the choreography of sport. The figures are finely modelled, the palette lively but grounded, and the setting—with its wooded backdrop, animated crowd, and distant grandstands—suggests a major 19th-century race meeting, possibly the Epsom Derby, a subject Alken is known to have returned to in several formats.
The composition’s panoramic sweep and low horizon lend a cinematic quality, while the density of detail—each silken cap and coat, each bridle and plume—evokes the pageantry and social theatre of Britain’s sporting calendar at the height of its Regency and early Victorian splendour.
A rare and spirited scene from the golden age of English sporting painting...
Category
1840s Victorian Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
Impressionist still life Interior, Blanket, Nuts, Ceramics, bookcase, mushrooms
By George Weissbort
Located in Woodbury, CT
George Weissbort (British, 1928–2013)
Still Life of an Interior with Trunk and Drapery
Oil on board, signed lower left
Circa 1970
Presented in the original English oak frame
This ri...
Category
1970s Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil, Board