Icon "Saint Martyr Nadia"

At the center of the composition is a full-length, frontal image of the saint. She has a narrow, elongated oval face, large elongated eyes, a refined nose, and a small mouth; her dark hair falls to her shoulders in curls. The saint wears a long white tunic, decorated along the hem with yellow and green bands. Over the tunic is a green dalmatic (stole), its hem bearing a purple geometric ornament. The saint is girded with a belt of purple, light-blue, and white bands. On her shoulders is a red mantle. Her left hand is pressed to her chest, and in her right she holds a staff, at the base of which is depicted an anchor — a symbol of the firmness of her faith. Above the saint's head is a halo. The saint is shown on the bank of a river with light-blue water (to the right), with the silhouettes of a city behind her; the ground beneath her feet is yellow-brown. Above the saint is the inscription: "ST. MARTYR NADEZHDA." Around the perimeter of the icon is a narrow dark frame. The icon is painted in oil on gesso over a panel. The reverse and edges are covered in dark-red velvet.

The icon belonged to S. P. Hryhorieva of Kharkiv and was donated to the museum by Varvara Ivanivna Kreider in 1966.

Legend: Saint Martyr Nadia, together with her sisters Vera and Liubov and their mother Sofia, lived in the 2nd century in Rome and suffered for the Christian faith by order of the Emperor Hadrian. Their mother Sofia raised her daughters in deep faith, naming them after the chief Christian virtues — Faith, Hope, and Love. The ruler Hadrian sought to force the girls to renounce Christ and offer sacrifice to pagan gods. The young sisters showed a fortitude beyond their years. Nadia and her sisters were subjected to cruel trials and executed before the eyes of their grieving mother Sofia, who buried her daughters and died at their grave a few days later.