All about DIPTYCHS, TRIPTYCHS, QUADTYCH and POLYPTYCHS

What's a POLYPTYCH ? (pronounced POL-ip- tik)
A work consisting of four or more paintings.

A DIPTYCH is a drawing or painting in two parts.
It is most usually a continuous but divided image, but may also be composed of separate, closely related images.
The word diptych comes from the greek root "dis", meaning two, and "ptykhe", meaning "fold".

A TRIPTYCH is picture in three parts.
(Pronunciation: trip- tick)
The triptych is a very popular format in the arts for a range of reasons:
The three-act dramatic structure is also evident in the application of the triptych format by many artists, with the panels representing a beginning, a middle and an end.

A QUADTYCH: SERIES of four seperate canvases.
Anything above a series of three paintings can be called a polyptych

Why would you want to paint on multiples?
1) More canvases add more interest.
2) Multiple canvases will spark your creativity.
3) Mini-canvases can be rearranged like a puzzle.

Framing each canvas individually is not really an option. Multiple canvas paintings should be painted on professional-quality gallery wrap canvas, and hung close together when finished.