Retable (redirected from retables)

retable (rē`tābəl), frame for decorative panels at the back of an altar in European churches. Retables, often sumptuously decorated in alabaster and gold, generally contained scenes from the Bible. An altarpiece made of fixed panels may also be termed a retable.

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retable

A decorative screen set up above and behind an altar, generally forming an architectural frame to a picture, bas-relief, or mosaic.

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Retable 

a large screen set up behind the altar of many Latin American and Spanish churches of the 15th through 18th centuries. Often reaching as high as the ceiling, a retable consisted of a frame completely covered with sculptured figures and other sculptural ornamentation. Sometimes paintings were included. The most commonly used materials for retables were wood, alabaster, and marble.