Diptych – An artwork made in the form of two painted or carved panels

(Pronounced dip-tik)

To remember what diptych means, recall the following:

She dipped both feet and got two ticks (diptych) for making two paintings by pressing each foot onto a different canvas. They looked great side-by-side.

"Di" means two and "ptych" means "fold" in Greek. Di-ptych = two-fold).

Above is a diptych titled Devotional Diptych with the Nativity and the Adoration by an unknown artist in approximately 1500.

For our diptych project, we will make a more traditional diptych. 

Find two shoe box lids, which are both the same size.

On paper, plan your paintings. 

Next, copy your paintings onto the inside of the shoe box lids. Try to incorporate some gold in your painting – traditional religious diptychs often heavily feature gold.

Make a hinge to attach the lids together – when the lids are closed together, stick a piece of masking tape along one edge. 

Finally, paint the outside and in inside edges of the lid in gold (or whichever colour you think will go well with your paintings). 

Diptych.