Saint Valentine

This tempera panel is the original painting for a cover Parrish executed for the February 2, 1905 issue of Life magazine. He depicts the Saint sitting at a table, writing a love note on a parchment with a quill pen. Parrish has inscribed the Saint's name and the decorative symobls associated with him in the halo around his head, and his distinctive glazing techniques are evident throughout the tonal transitions in the background landscape.

Although he has come to symbolize expressions of love, Saint Valentine was a Christian martyr of the 3rd century. The custom of sending love tokens on February 14th has no actual connection with the saint. Saint Valentine's Day is a purely secular holiday, based on an ancient belief about the date on which birds began to mate.