Winged altarpiece Winged altarpiece A winged altarpiece (also "folding altar") or winged retable is a special form of altarpiece (reredos, occasionally retable), common in Central Europe, in which the fixed shrine or "corpus" can be enclosed by two (triptych), four (pentaptych) or more (polyptych) movable wings. The technical terms are derived from : "trís" or "triple"; πέντε: "pénte" or "five"; πολύς: "polýs" or "many"; and πτυχή: "ptychē" or "fold, layer". Because the winged altar can display different scenes on weekdays, Sundays or holidays, based on the motifs and type of decoration (painted panels or reliefs), it is also called a liturgical altar.
Mérode Altarpiece Mérode Altarpiece The Mérode Altarpiece (or Annunciation Triptych) is an oil on oak panel triptych, now in The Cloisters, in New York City. It is unsigned and undated, but attributed to Early Netherlandish painter Robert Campin and an assistant. The three panels represent, from left to right, the donors kneeling in prayer in a garden, the moment of the Annunciation to Mary, which is set in a contemporary, domestic setting, and Saint Joseph, a carpenter with the tools of his trade. The many elements of religious symbolism include the lily and fountain (symbolising the purity of Mary), and the Holy