Moses and the Brazen Serpent

Both this canvas and The Golden Calf (also in the Colección Santander) are major and characteristic works within the oeuvre of the well known 17th-century Valencian painter Esteban (“Esteve”) March. The influence of the work of the Bassano family, to whose circle these two canvases were formerly attributed, reached March via his teacher, the Murcian painter Pedro Orrente, who trained in Venice in the studio of Leandro Bassano. In the biblical episode depicted here (Numbers 21, 6-9) Moses pleaded with Yahweh to free the Israelites from the plague of poisonous snakes that had been sent to their camp as punishment for their lack of faith. God gave Moses the following instructions: “Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it shall live." This episode has been interpreted as a prefiguration of the cross of the Crucifixion due to the explicit reference to it in the Gospel of Saint John. March interprets the narrative in a notably dynamic manner, locating the Israelites’ camp in a panoramic landscape beneath a dark, stormy sky. The dead and sick are skilfully arranged in various groups on the ground with some of the figures gesticulating and March achieves an intense, agitated mood through his use of a loose, vibrant brushstroke. The chromatic range conforms to his usual one of warm brown tones, against which various notes of bright colour stand out including greens, yellows and blues, all arranged in a lively, graceful manner.