Type of object with several panels, usually an altarpiece, although it may also fulfil other functions. The polyptych normally consists of a central panel with an even number of side-panels, which are sometimes hinged to fold. Although in principle every object with two panels or more may be called a polyptych, the word is normally used as a general term for anything larger than a TRIPTYCH. As with diptychs and triptychs, the size and material can vary.

• altarpieces
  • Altar, §II, 3(i)(c): Western European, to c 1550: Monumental decoration
  • Altar, §II, 4(i): Roman Catholic, after c 1550: Monumental
  • Altarpiece
  • Altarpiece, §1: Definition
  • Altarpiece, §2: Historical overview
  • Collecting, §3: Paintings
  • Display of art, §II, 1: Painting, before c 1500
  • Oil sketch
  • Panel painting, §2(iii): Manufacture
  • Predella
  • conservation
    • Panel painting, §3(iii): Conservation: Reconstruction
  • historical and regional traditions
    • Argentina see RETABLES
    • Austria
      • Austria, §IV, 2: Sculpture, c 1400–c 1600: Late Gothic and Renaissance
      • Baroque
        • Unterberger: (1) Michael Angelo Unterberger
      • Gothic
        • Frueauf: (2) Rueland Frueauf
      • 15th cent.
        • Pacher, Michael, §2: The St Wolfgang Altarpiece
    • Beguines
      • Beguines, §2: Iconography
    • Belgium
      • Baroque
        • Baroque, §2: The modern concept
      • Early Netherlandish style
        • Bellegambe, Jean
        • Eyck, van: (1) Hubert van Eyck, §2: Works
        • Juan de Flandes
        • Memling, Hans, §1(iii): Late years, after 1480
        • Symbol, §3: Indirect symbolism
      • Gothic
        • Borman
        • Gothic, §III, 2(ii)(b): Wood sculpture in the Low Countries, 1300–1350
        • Gothic, §III, 2(ii)(c): Wood sculpture in the Low Countries, 1350–1430
      • Renaissance
        • Cleve, van (i): (1) Joos van Cleve, §1: Before c 1523
        • Coxcie, Michiel
    • Benin, Kingdom of
      • Benin, §2: Social organization
    • Bolivia see RETABLES
    • Brazil see RETABLES
    • Byzantine
      • Bust, §II: Early Christian, Byzantine and medieval
    • Catalonia see RETABLES
    • Colombia see RETABLES
    • Cuba see RETABLES
    • Czech Republic
      • Willmann, Michael
    • Denmark
      • Denmark, §III, 1: Painting and graphic arts, before c 1540
      • Denmark, §III, 2: Painting and graphic arts, c 1540–1840
      • Denmark, §IV, 1: Sculpture, before c 1540
      • Frame, §VII, 3: Scandinavia: Mannerist
    • Ecuador see RETABLES
    • England
      • Frame, §IV, 1: Britain: Medieval
    • France
      • Gothic
        • Masters, anonymous, and monogrammists, §I: Master of the Parement de Narbonne
        • Masters, anonymous, and monogrammists, §I: Master of St Giles
      • 15th cent.
        • Marmion, Simon, §2(i): Life and work, to c 1474
    • Germany
      • Altarpiece, §2(ii)(b): Forms and development: c 1400– c 1600
      • Germany, §IV, 2(i)(b): Sculpture, c 1400–c 1600: Altarpieces
      • Landscape painting, §II, 7(i): 19th century: Romantic era
      • Baroque
        • Degler, Hans
      • Gothic
        • Altarpiece, §2(ii)(a): Forms and development: Before c 1400
        • Frame, §VI, 1(i): German and Central European Gothic: Altarpieces
        • Germany, §III, 2: Painting and graphic arts, c 1400–c 1600
        • Gothic, §IV, 2(ii): Panel painting
        • Notke, Bernt, §2: Ecclesiastical commissions for paintings, carved works and sculpture
        • Stoss, Veit, §1(i)(d): Sculpture: Late works, c 1516 and later
      • Gothic: Early Gothic
        • Germany, §IV, 1(ii): Gothic sculpture
      • Gothic: Late Gothic
        • Riemenschneider, Tilman, §1(i): Life and work, before 1504
        • Riemenschneider, Tilman, §1(ii): Life and work, 1504–31
      • Renaissance
        • Breu: (1) Jörg Breu (i), §1: Early works in Austria, to 1502
        • Grünewald, Matthias, §2(i): Works, to mid-1516
      • Rococo
        • Altarpiece, §2(ii)(c): Forms and development: After c 1600
      • 14th cent.
        • Bertram Master, §2(ii): Grabow Altarpiece
        • Bertram Master, §2(iii): Late works
      • 15th cent.
        • Conrad von Soest, §1: Life and work
        • Mälesskircher, Gabriel
        • Moser, Lukas
        • Wolgemut, Michael, §2(i): Altarpieces
        • Zeitblom, Bartholomäus
      • 16th cent.
        • Leinberger, Hans
        • Masters, anonymous, and monogrammists, §I: Master of the Aachen Altar
        • Traut: (1) Hans Traut von Speyer II
        • Traut: (2) Wolf Traut
        • Weiditz: (1) Hans Weiditz (i)
      • 17th cent.
        • Candid, Peter, §2: Munich, 1586–1628
        • Sandrart, Joachim von, §1: Painting career
        • Walbaum, Matthias
      • 18th cent.
        • Schönborn
    • Gothic
      • Gilding, §II, 2: Uses: Sculpture
      • Gothic, §IV, 1(i): Painting: Ecclesiastical patronage and subject-matter
      • Gothic, §VI, 7: Painted enamels
      • Panel painting, §1: History
      • Catalonia
        • Huguet, Jaume
      • Holy Roman Empire (before 1648)
        • Gothic, §III, 2(iii)(a): Wood sculpture in the Holy Roman Empire: Introduction
        • Gothic, §III, 2(iii)(b): Wood sculpture in the Holy Roman Empire, 1300–1420
      • Italy
        • Cini: (1) Bartolo di Fredi Cini
        • Cione: (1) Andrea di Cione, §2: Mature works, 1348–60
        • Duccio, §I, 2(i): Documented works, 1285–1311: The Rucellai Madonna
        • Duccio, §I, 3(ii): Attributed works, 1285–c 1314: Associated with the Maestà
        • Gothic, §IV, 5(v): Painting: Italy, c 1265–c 1320
        • Masters, anonymous, and monogrammists, §I: Master of the Mascoli Altar
        • Venice, §IV, 1(v): S Marco: Pala d’Oro
      • Italy: Gothic (Late)
        • Lorenzo Monaco, §1(i): Life and work, before 1414
        • Lorenzo Monaco, §1(ii): Life and work, 1414 and after
      • Italy: International Gothic
        • Gentile da Fabriano, §1(i): Fabriano, Venice and Brescia, c. 1385–1420
        • Gentile da Fabriano, §1(ii): Florence and Siena, 1420–27
      • Late Gothic
        • Late Gothic
      • Netherlands, the
        • Gothic, §III, 2(d): Wood sculpture in the Low Countries, 1430–1530
      • Norway
        • Frame, §VII, 1: Scandinavia: Medieval
        • Gothic, §IV, 5(iv): Painting: Scandinavia and the Iberian Peninsula, c 1230–c 1340
      • Poland
        • Stoss, Veit, §1(i)(b): Sculpture: Kraków, 1477–96
      • Slovakia
        • Levoca
        • Slovakia, §IV: Sculpture
      • Spain
        • Frame, §VIII, 1(ii)(b): Spanish Gothic retables: Development
      • Sweden
        • Gothic, §III, 2(iv)(b): Scandinavian wood sculpture: 14th century
        • Sweden, §IV, 1: Sculpture, before c 1650
    • Guatemala see RETABLES
    • Hungary
      • Hungary, §III, 2: Sculpture, c 1520–c 1800
      • Székesfehérvár
    • Italy
      • Frame, §II, 2: Italian Pre-Renaissance
      • Iconographic programmes, §2: c 1420–c 1550
      • Panel painting, §2(ii): Construction
      • Sacra conversazione
      • Baroque
        • Domenichino, §1(iii): Bologna and Fano, 1617–21
        • Franceschini, Marcantonio, §1(iii): Major decorative works, 1690–c 1710
        • Guidi, Domenico
        • Mazzanti, Ludovico
        • Naples, §II, 3: Art life and organization, c 1600–c 1700
      • Mannerism
        • Bedoli, Girolamo Mazzola
        • Giorgione, §I, 1(iii)(e): Early sources: Ridolfi
        • Titian, §I, 2(i)(d): Early success, 1516–mid-1540s: Religious and mythological pictures
      • Order of Poor Clares
        • Poor Clares, Order of
      • Renaissance
        • Angelico, Fra, §I, 2: c 1433–9
        • Antonello da Messina, §1(iii): Trip to Venice, 1475–6
        • Bellini: (3) Giovanni Bellini, §II, 2: Style and development, c 1470–c 1500
        • Biagio d’Antonio
        • Boltraffio, Giovanni Antonio, §2: After c 1500
        • Conservation and restoration, §II, 2(i): Restoration techniques: Painting
        • Costa: (1) Lorenzo Costa (i)
        • Domenico Veneziano, §1(i): Early works, to mid-1440s
        • Ferrucci: (2) Andrea di Piero Ferrucci
        • Francia: (1) Francesco Francia, §2: 1500–06
        • Garofalo
        • Leonardo da Vinci, §I, 1: First Florentine period, 1472–c 1482
        • Lippi: (1) Filippo Lippi, §1(ii): Life and work, 1437–52
        • Lotto, Lorenzo, §1(ii): Bergamo, 1513–25
        • Lotto, Lorenzo, §2(i): Religious work
        • Luini, Bernardino, §1: Life and work
        • Mantegna, Andrea, §I, 1(iv)(c): Mantua, c 1490–1506: Altarpieces
        • Masaccio, §I, 1(v): Training and early years, to c 1426: The Pisa Altarpiece
        • Masters, anonymous, and monogrammists, §II: Master of 1419
        • Montagna: (1) Bartolomeo Montagna, §1(ii): Maturity, c 1485–1509
        • Naples, §II, 2: Art life and organization, 1442–c 1600
        • Neri di Bicci, §1(ii): Life and work, after 1452
        • Pavia, §2(i)(b): Certosa: Sculpture
        • Perugino, §I, 4(ii): c 1495–1500: Florentine works
        • Piero della Francesca, §I, 1(iii): Early works: The Baptism
        • Robbia, della: (2) Andrea della Robbia
        • Roberti, Ercole de’, §1: Early work, 1473–82
        • Sassetta, §1(ii): Middle years, 1431–44
        • Ugolino di Nerio
        • Vecchietta, §1: Before c 1465
        • Zenale, Bernardo
      • Renaissance: High Renaissance
        • Bartolommeo, Fra, §1(i)(b): Paintings, 1504–8
        • Bartolommeo, Fra, §1(i)(c): Paintings, 1509–13
      • 14th cent.
        • Bulgarini, Bartolommeo
        • Giotto, §I, 3(ii): Major Florentine paintings
        • Segna di Bonaventura
      • 15th cent.
        • Bréa, Louis
        • Giovanni di Paolo, §1: To 1430
        • Masters, anonymous, and monogrammists, §I: Master of the Osservanza
        • Starnina, Gherardo
      • 16th cent.
        • Anselmi, Michelangelo
        • Tito, Santi di, §1(i): Florence, Rome and Venice, to c 1575
        • Tito, Santi di, §1(iii): Florence, 1588–1602
    • Mexico see RETABLES
    • Netherlands, the
      • Blocklandt, Anthonie
    • Peru see RETABLES
    • Poland
      • Poland, §IV, 2: Sculpture, c 1250–c 1520
    • Portugal see RETABLES
    • Spain see RETABLES
    • Sweden
      • Sweden, §III, 1: Painting and graphic arts, before c 1550
    • Yoruba
      • Yoruba, §II, 2(ii): Figurative sculpture: Deities
  • materials
    • alabaster (gypsum)
      • Alabaster, §2(ii)(a): Europe, before c 1540
      • Chanterene, Nicolau, §3: Later work, from 1527
    • bone
      • Embriachi
    • frames
      • Frame, §I, 2: Stylistic overview
    • gold leaf
      • Gilding, §I, 1(ii): Leaf decoration
    • ivory
      • Gothic, §VII, 2(iv): Ivories: First half of the 14th century
      • Gothic, §VII, 2(vi)(c): Ivories: Rhineland and Meuse region
      • Ivory, §3(ii): Medieval
  • techniques
    • gilding
      • Gilding, §II, 1: Uses: Painting
    • tracery
      • Schnitzaltar
  • types
    • diptychs
      • Diptych
      • Belgium
        • Goes, Hugo van der, §3: Stylistic development
      • Byzantine
        • Early Christian and Byzantine art, §VI, 1(i): Icons: Development and use
      • Early Christian (c. AD 250-843)
        • Carolingian art, §VI, 1: Ivories, before AD 843