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Exploring Triptychs

TCS middle school 2D Art Elective students created organically-inspired triptychs. Some of their creations are on display in the middle school hallway, and you can see them at Open House on Thursday.  For the lesson, students learned about the long history of triptychs used in Christian art. Triptychs are a 3 framed image, often with a large central figure flanked by two related smaller images. These works were often devotional in nature, depicting biblical scenes and/or saints. The utilitarian function of a triptych was that it could be folded and therefore transported safely to other sites. The students also learned that the tradition of a triptych is still going, although the subject matter has expanded beyond the secular realm.
Students also learned about creating a “contour-line drawing” which would capture the curves and contours of a subject. Armed with this knowledge, the class headed outside to a garden next to the campus to create contour-line drawings of natural subject matter. These observational sketches were then used to create a 3 part triptych of their own. Color theory was also applied when the students were challenged to use a different color scheme in each panel.

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