Moses with the brazen snake

Colijn de Coter painted this Moses with the Brazen Snake around 1500 in Brussels. The Old Testament subject of the bronze serpent that healed those who looked upon it was read as a typological prefiguration of the Crucifixion. De Coter's treatment reflects the Brussels school's interest in complex narrative compositions. The tempera medium required careful preparation on a gessoed panel and a disciplined layering technique that produced precise, durable surfaces suited to the intricate detail expected of devotional painting.

Oil on panel with de Coter's Brussels technique and dramatic narrative staging. The crowd of afflicted Israelites and the raised bronze serpent create a dynamic multi-figure composition.