Souffleur, what is the meaning of 'Triptych'?
De Marteling van de Heilige Erasmus, Dieric Bouts, M Leuven, foto: Dominique Provost voor meemoo. Art in Flanders
SOUFFLEUR
TRIPTYCH
“Souffleur (de; m/f; pl: souffleurs): prompter. One who whispers the actor his/her lines.’’ According to the Dutch-language dictionary Van Dale, a souffleur or prompter is someone who helps you remember something you already know. We thought it would be a nice title for this new section: in it, M’s employees provide explanations and background to professional terms that may sound familiar to your ears, but that you may not know the meaning of (or maybe you no longer remember).
De Marteling van de Heilige Erasmus, Dieric Bouts, M Leuven, foto: Dominique Provost voor meemoo. Art in Flanders
Ko Goubert, collection registrar: ‘‘A triptych is a work of art that consists of three parts that are related in content and together form a whole. The term is still common in contemporary art, and even in literature and music. But we use it mainly for triptychs from the Middle Ages and Renaissance. These were painted on wooden panels and generally hung above an altar. ‘The Martyrdom of Saint Erasmus’ is a good example. Dieric Bouts made that work in the 15th century for St Peter’s Church in Leuven. You can still see it there today.”
“The central panel of a triptych is the largest. The two side panels are half as wide and can be closed so that they cover the central panel completely. Nowadays triptychs are almost always open, but in the time of Bouts they remained closed most of the year. Only on church holidays could you see them in all their glory.”
‘‘That’s why the back side of the wings was often painted – for example, with the patron’s coat of arms, or with the image of a saint in shades of grey.’’
‘‘Triptychs are religious works of art. They have a message for the faithful. On ‘The Martyrdom of Saint Erasmus’, they see what the man has suffered for his faith. And on the side panels, there are two saints who have earned their place in heaven in a different way: Jerome studied the Bible his entire life, and Bernard was a church reformer who lived a strict, pious life. These were examples that the faithful could follow.’’
