instance_of madonna and child with saints polyptych 
A ___MASK20___ ( from the Greek  , " di " " ___MASK95___ " + " ptych " " fold ") is any object with ___MASK95___ flat plates attached at a hinge . For example , the standard notebook and ___MASK51___ exercise book of the ancient world was a ___MASK20___ consisting of a pair of such plates that contained a recessed space filled with wax . Writing was accomplished by scratching the wax ___MASK24___ with a stylus . When the notes were no longer needed , the wax could be slightly heated and then smoothed to allow reuse . Ordinary versions had wooden frames , but more luxurious diptychs were crafted with more expensive materials . Europe is a ___MASK62___ that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia . Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north , the Atlantic Ocean to the west , and the Mediterranean Sea to the south . To the east and southeast , Europe is generally considered as separated from Asia by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains , the Ural River , the Caspian and Black Seas , and the waterways of the Turkish Straits . Yet the non - oceanic borders of Europe  a concept dating back to classical antiquity  are arbitrary . The primarily physiographic term " ___MASK62___ " as applied to Europe also incorporates cultural and political elements whose discontinuities are not always reflected by the ___MASK62___ ' s current overland boundaries . A ___MASK94___ is a ___MASK59___ in the way a number of different disciplines approach their work . This embodies all art forms , the sciences , and philosophies . Historically , different nations or regions of the world have gone through their own independent sequence of movements in culture , but as world communications have accelerated this ___MASK53___ distinction has become less distinct . When cultural movements go through revolutions from one to the next , genres tend to get attacked and mixed up , and often new genres are generated and old ones fade . These changes are often reactions against the prior cultural form , which typically has grown stale and repetitive . An obsession emerges among the mainstream with the new movement , and the old one falls into neglect - sometimes it dies out entirely , but often it chugs along favored in a few disciplines and occasionally making reappearances ( sometimes prefixed with " neo -"). The Renaissance was a ___MASK66___ in European ___MASK77___ , from the 14th to the 17th century , regarded as the cultural bridge between the Middle Ages and modern ___MASK77___ . It started as a cultural movement in Italy in the Late Medieval ___MASK66___ and later spread to the rest of Europe , marking the beginning of the Early Modern ___MASK21___ . A ___MASK87___ (; from the Greek adjective "  " "" triptukhon "" (" three - fold "), from " tri ", i . e ., " three " and " ptysso ", i . e ., " to fold " or " ptyx ", i . e ., " fold ") is a work of art ( usually a panel ___MASK45___ ) that is divided into three sections , or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open . It is therefore a type of polyptych , the term for all multi - panel works . The middle panel is typically the largest and it is flanked by two smaller related works , although there are triptychs of equal - sized panels . The form can also be used for pendant jewelry . In the ___MASK77___ of Europe , the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted from the 5th to the 15th century . It began with the fall of the Western Roman ___MASK50___ and merged into the Renaissance and the ___MASK21___ of Discovery . The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western ___MASK77___ : classical antiquity , the medieval period , and the modern period . The medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early , High , and Late Middle Ages . ___MASK77___ ( from Greek , " historia ", meaning " inquiry , knowledge acquired by investigation ") is the ___MASK85___ of the past as it is described in written documents . Events occurring before written record are considered prehistory . It is an umbrella term that relates to past events as well as the memory , discovery , collection , organization , presentation , and interpretation of information about these events . Scholars who write about history are called historians . ___MASK11___ , officially the Italian ___MASK42___ , is a unitary parliamentary ___MASK42___ in Europe . Located in the heart of the Mediterranean ___MASK25___ , ___MASK11___ shares open land borders with France , Switzerland , Austria , Slovenia , San Marino and Vatican City . ___MASK11___ covers an area of and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate ; due to its shape , it is often referred to in ___MASK11___ as " lo Stivale " ( the Boot ). With 61 million inhabitants , it is the fourth most populous EU member state . A ___MASK19___ (; Greek : " poly -" " many " and " ptych " " fold ") is a ___MASK45___ ( usually panel ___MASK45___ ) which is divided into sections , or panels . Specifically , a " diptych " is a two - part work of art ; a " triptych " is a three - part work ; a tetraptych or quadriptych has four parts ; pentaptych five ; hexaptych six ; heptaptych ( or septych in Latin ) seven ; and octaptych eight parts . A panel ___MASK45___ is a ___MASK45___ made on a flat panel made of wood , either a single piece , or a number of pieces joined together . Until canvas became the more popular support medium in the 16th century , it was the normal form of support for a ___MASK45___ not on a wall ( fresco ) or vellum , which was used for miniatures in illuminated manuscripts and paintings for the framing . The Madonna and Child with saints ___MASK19___ is a five piece Madonna ___MASK19___ by Italian Renaissance artist Duccio di Buoninsegna , also referred to as ___MASK19___ no . 47 by Ducio . The bright colors and gold used in the work reflect Duccio ' s usual style . Above the Madonna , Child and four saints , the ___MASK19___ depicts ten patriarchs and prophets . Christ is at the apex of the ___MASK19___ and is flanked by four angels below him . The saints depicted are Agnes , John the Evangelist , John the Baptist , and Mary Magdalene . It was painted between 1311 and 1318 , ( tempera and gold on wood ) and is located at the Pinacoteca Nazionale in Siena , Italy . Modern ___MASK77___ , the modern period or the modern ___MASK56___ , is the global historiographical approach to the timeframe after the Post - classical ___MASK77___ . Modern ___MASK77___ can be further broken down into periods :