WishlistCart

Home › Glossary › Framing and hanging terms › Diptych, triptych, polyptych

Diptych, triptych and polyptych

A diptych has two panels, a triptych three, and a polyptych more than three (Tate). Panels can be joined or hung side by side. If you hang separate framed canvases as a set, the row width is the panel count times the width plus the gaps between them.

2: diptych3: triptych4+: polyptych

Diagram: panel counts. Schematic.

Counting panels

PanelsTermTate says
2DiptychAn artwork consisting of two painted or carved panels, joined or shown side by side
3TriptychAn artwork in three panels; also used for other media such as video
More than 3PolyptychMade up of more than three panels

Wikipedia traces diptych to Latin diptycha and Late Greek for a pair of writing tablets, literally double-folded, and notes that large altarpieces tended to be triptychs whose two outer panels could close across the centre. Triptych and polyptych belong to the same family of multi-panel works.

If you hang separate pieces as a set

Row width = panels x piece width + (panels minus 1) x gap, with a 2 or 3 inch gap, in inches. Price = number of panels x the single-piece price, because this page treats each panel as a separate framed canvas at its rate-card price; it does not describe a set product. Prices are the ArtzFolio Custom rate card as of 2026-11-10 (custom.artzfolio.com/data/prices.csv and gst-rates.csv), shown with GST and before GST; page checked 2026-11-12. Confirm the live price in the studio before ordering.

Panel sizePanels in layoutRow width (in, 2 to 3 in gap)Total price with GST / before GST
12 x 18 portrait2 (Diptych layout)26 to 27₹2,478 / ₹2,100
12 x 18 portrait3 (Triptych layout)40 to 42₹3,717 / ₹3,150
12 x 18 portrait4 (Four-panel layout)54 to 57₹4,956 / ₹4,200
16 x 24 portrait2 (Diptych layout)34 to 35₹4,090 / ₹3,466
16 x 24 portrait3 (Triptych layout)52 to 54₹6,135 / ₹5,199
16 x 24 portrait4 (Four-panel layout)70 to 73₹8,180 / ₹6,932
20 x 30 portrait2 (Diptych layout)42 to 43₹6,392 / ₹5,416
20 x 30 portrait3 (Triptych layout)64 to 66₹9,588 / ₹8,124
20 x 30 portrait4 (Four-panel layout)86 to 89₹12,784 / ₹10,832

Sources

Figures from these pages are paraphrased and re-checked on 2026-11-12. Where two sources disagree, both figures are shown. Hardware and wall products vary, so follow the pack instructions.

Related pages