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.
Dresden Altarpiece spreading incense from thuribles. The side panels also contain numerous puttoes in the background. Their style difference could indicate the intervention of assistants. <br> Dresden Altarpiece The Dresden Altarpiece is a triptych by German Renaissance artists Albrecht Dürer, executed between 1496 and 1497, and perhaps continued in 1503-1504. It is housed in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister of Dresden, Germany. The painting was one of the first commissions received from Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, together with the "Seven Sorrows Polyptych" and the "Portrait of Frederick III of Saxony". Dürer knew the elector during the latter's short stay in Nuremberg in