predella

American  

[pri-del-uh, pre-del-lah] / prɪˈdɛl ə, prɛˈdɛl lɑ /

noun

plural

predelle

1. Fine Arts. the base of an altarpiece, often decorated with small paintings or reliefs.

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predella British  

/ prɪˈdɛlə, preˈdɛlla /

noun

1. a painting or sculpture or a series of small paintings or sculptures in a long narrow strip forming the lower edge of an altarpiece or the face of an altar step or platform

2. a platform in a church upon which the altar stands

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Etymology

Origin of predella

First recorded in 1840–50; from Italian, from unattested Langobardic predel, pretel, derivative of pret- “board,” from Germanic bret-, source of Old High German brët ( German Brett ), Old English, Old Saxon bred “board, plank”); conformed in Italian to the diminutive suffix -ella; see -elle, board

Example Sentences

Just as when this painting graced the altar of the Innocenti church, it is displayed above a predella, which shows a series of scenes.

From Washington Post • Sep. 29, 2016

They added the predella fragments to it, and supplemented it with a selection of four smaller 14th-century altarpieces, intact or partial, from American collections.

From New York Times • Aug. 10, 2012

Aside from the central “Magi” panel, kept in the Pinacoteca Nazionale in Siena, only two fragments are known to have survived, both from the cut-up predella.

From New York Times • Aug. 10, 2012

The Annunciation, Adoration of the Magi, and Presentation in the Temple: Raphael;—formerly a predella to the Coronation of the Virgin in the third room.

From Walks in Rome by Hare, Augustus J. C.

The predella, illustrating the principal scenes in the lives of the saints around the altar, is full of Oriental costumes.

From The Venetian School of Painting by Phillipps, Evelyn March