The Brazen Serpent 1711 - 1770

"The Brazen Serpent" is a painting by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, a prominent Venetian artist of the 18th century, and it is now housed in the SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst. The artwork depicts a scene from the Old Testament, where Moses is commanded by God to build a bronze serpent on a pole as a symbol of divine power. The Israelites who looked upon it were cured of the deadly snake bites they had suffered. Tiepolo, known for his dynamic compositions and dramatic use of light, captures the emotion and desperation of the people seeking salvation. The painting's elongated figures and vivid details give a sense of the vastness and spectacle of the event.