Moses and the Brazen Serpent

This painting recounts an Old Testament story: God punishes the Israelites for their lack of faith with a plague of poisonous snakes. Hearing the pleas of their leader, Moses, God gives him a miraculous brazen (or brass) serpent on a cross. The painting depicts the moment when Moses holds it aloft, curing those who look upon it.

The work demonstrates Peter Paul Rubens’s skill in depicting the human body in complex and contorted poses to convey the drama and violence of the scene.