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St. Valerian the Martyr

Painting
Full painting under silver riza with halo in relief backed on wood with cursive parchment. The painted face shows a young clean shaven man with curly brown hair. The riza gives the young man robes with floral etching and a spiked halo. Handwritten note on back and makers mark under bottom edge.

2005.02.059

Panel

Betsy Scheuring Icon Collection

2005.02

Betsy Scheuring

Gift

Gift of Betsy Scheuring

Trofim Semionovich Bogdanov

1845 - 1894

St. Petersburg, Russia

Makers Mark

bottom edge of riza

ДТ/1845, ТСБ, 84, city hallmark image, 23

Cyrillic

DT (Dmitriy Tverskoy)/1845, TSB (Trofim Semionovich Bogdanov) 84, St. Petersburg, 23

Label

Back of painting on a slip of paper

Cursive script, 22/?, 1894

Icon

Symbol, Religious

Religious Objects

Ceremonial Objects

Category 08: Communication Objects

5-3/4 in

4-1/2 in

1/2 in

25: A Selection Works from Purdue Galleries’ Permanent Collection (2024)

Surveying the Sacred: Analysis of the Scheuring Collection of Eastern Orthodox Icons (2025)

Cultural/Historical Context

"St. Valerian lived in Rome in the 5th century. He was converted to Christianity by St. Cecilia on the night of his arranged marriage to her. In addition, he converted his brother Tiburtius, and they set about burying the bodies of Christian martyrs. The men were caught and executed, along with Maximus, a Roman officer whom they had converted after their arrest. When Cecilia tried to bury the men’s bodies, she too was apprehended and executed. St. Valerian holds a palm leaf of martyrdom, plainly rendered in the painting but shown more elaborately in the riza. The luster of the gilt riza accents the painting, softening the figure’s features and emphasizing the halo. The metal halo suggests that rays of light stream from the saint’s head, but the painting underneath only shows a thin circle for the halo."

St. Valerian the Martyr picture number 1