Saint Adrian

Saint Adrian of Nicomedia was a Roman military officer martyred in the early fourth century who became one of the most venerated soldier-saints of the medieval and Renaissance periods, particularly in Flanders where he was patron of butchers and soldiers. The Master of the Beighem Altarpiece was an anonymous Flemish painter responsible for the altarpiece cycle at Beighem near Brussels. This panel of Saint Adrian, now in the Glasgow Museums Resource Centre, would have formed part of a larger devotional ensemble. The saint's armour, his attribute of the anvil, and his bearing as an aristocratic martyr placed him among the most compelling saints in the Flemish hagiographic tradition.

The saint is presented in a commanding three-quarter pose, his armour rendered with meticulous attention to surface reflection and metalwork detail. The palette balances cool silver of armour against warm flesh tones and deep background hues.