Mozes and the brass snake

Anthony van Dyck depicts the biblical episode where Moses raises a brass serpent to heal the Israelites bitten by venomous snakes. The dramatic composition shows suffering figures looking up at the bronze snake on a pole, their bodies twisted in anguish and hope.

Van Dyck, who studied under Rubens, became the leading Baroque portraitist of his generation. His religious paintings, though less famous than his portraits, demonstrate the same theatrical lighting and elegant figure drawing. This work resides at the Museo del Prado in Madrid, which holds an extensive collection of Flemish painting.