His father José was also a painter and his younger brother was the poet Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer. His first art lessons came from his father, who died when Valeriano was only eight. Afterwards, he was raised by his mother"s family and took lessons from his uncle Joaquín, assisting in his workshop until 1853.
Later, he also studied with Antonio Cabral Bejarano.
In 1865, he received a government commission to paint scenes of festivals, costumes and customs from the various Spanish regions, which resulted in several years of travelling. The project was left unfinished, however, when the Glorious Revolution resulted in the grant for his commission being withdrawn. To supplement his income, he worked as a cartoonist and illustrator for several publications, including Louisiana Ilustración Española y Americana and El Museo Universal, often in conjunction with Gustavo.
They were privately distributed at first, and not published until 1991.
In fact, Gustavo"s death may have been hastened by this event, as he fell into a deep depression afterward and his health had always been fragile. Valeriano"s portrait of Gustavo was used on the 100 Peseta Spanish banknote from 1965 to 1970 and was the model for a memorial bust in Maria Luisa Park.
