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Miniature Altarpiece with the Sacrifice of Isaac, the Crucifixion and Moses with the Brazen Serpent
Dutch, Early 16th Century
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art
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“Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world,
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light
and does not come toward the light,
so that his works might not be exposed.
But whoever lives the truth comes to the light,
so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.”
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world,
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light
and does not come toward the light,
so that his works might not be exposed.
But whoever lives the truth comes to the light,
so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.”
John
3:14-21 Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of
Lent, Year B
What is this
serpent lifted up by Moses in the desert that Jesus refers to when speaking to
Nicodemus? Well, since the earliest
years Christians have seen this incident, described in the Book of Numbers, as
a metaphor or sign of the Crucifixion of Jesus.
As described in the Book of Numbers:
“From Mount Hor the children of Israel set
out on the Red Sea road,
to bypass the land of Edom.
But with their patience worn out by the
journey,
the people complained against God and Moses,
"Why have you brought us up from Egypt
to die in this desert,
where there is no food or water?
We are disgusted with this wretched
food!"
In punishment the LORD sent among the people
saraph serpents,
which bit the people so that many of them
died.
Then the people came to Moses and said,
"We have sinned in complaining against
the LORD and you.
Pray the LORD to take the serpents away from
us."
So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD
said to Moses,
"Make a saraph and mount it on a pole,
and whoever looks at it after being bitten
will live."
Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and
mounted it on a pole,
and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a
serpent
looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.”
Numbers
21:4-9 Reading I from the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, September 14
This bronze
serpent, often called the brazen serpent, set on a pole by Moses and lifted up
so that that those who had been bitten could view it, has been interpreted as a
prefiguration of the body of Jesus, lifted up on the Cross. Where the bronze serpent cured those who
looked at it of the effects of deadly snakebite, the body of Jesus (the Son of
Man) on the Cross will cure those who look at it and believe in Him of the
greatest death, the permanent death of the soul. Belief in the One lifted up will lead to
Eternal Life for those who look and believe.
,%2011th-12th%20Centuries_Paris,%20BNF_MS%20Coislin%20239,%20fol.%2018r_2.jpg) |
| Moses and the Brazen Serpent From the Orations by Gregory Nazianzenus Byzantine (Constantinople), 11th-12th Centuries Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Coislin 239, fol. 18r |
Christian
artists embraced the significance of this image from Saint John’s Gospel and
produced many visual works that reminded viewers of the significance of this
idea. I think that it is fair to say
that behind each image of the brazen serpent, lies the text of this Sunday’s
Gospel.
The Straightforward Image
Most images
present the Old Testament text from Numbers without much adornment and without
needing to hammer home the analogy to the Crucifix. In fact, they set the serpent, often conceived of as dragon-headed, with ears and sometimes wings, on top of a column or pedestal, instead of hung on a pole.
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| Enameled Plaque of Moses and the Brazen Serpent Mosan, c. 1160 London, Victoria and Albert Museum |
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| Moses and the Brazen Serpent From a Picture Bible French (Saint-Omer), c. 1190-1200 The Hague, Koninklijk Bibliotheek MS KB 76 F 5, fol. 6v |
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| Enameled Plaque of Moses and the Brazen Serpent German, c. 1200 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art |
Frequently, additional figures beside Moses and his brother Aaron are shown. These figures often are entangled with the biting serpents, or hold out parts of their bodies that have been bitten, asking for healing.
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| Moses and the Brazen Serpent From the Golden Munich Psalter English (Oxford), c. 1200-1225 Munich, Bayerisches Staatsbibliothek MS Clm 835, fol. 20r |
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| Moses and the Brazen Serpent From a Book of Hours German (Bamberg), c. 1204-1219 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 739. fol. 16v Here, as in the image above, the figures wear the traditional pointed hats that indicate Jewish identity in medieval Europe. In this image, which is nightmarishly terrifying, some of the sufferers are actively being bitten by snakes, which are wrapping themselves around them and biting at mouths, eyes, nose and throat.
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| Michiel van der Borch, Moses and the Brazen Serpent From Rhimebible by Jacob van Maerlant Dutch (Utrectht), 1332 The Hague, Meermano Museum MS MMW 10 B 21, fol. 35r
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| Bible Masters of the First Generation, Moses and the Brazen Serpent Dutch (Utrecht), c. 1430 The Hague, Koninklijk Bibliotheek MS KB 78 D 38, dl1, fol. 103v |
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| Jan Joest von Kalkar, Moses and the Brazen Serpent From the Passion Altarpiece Dutch, 1508 Kalkar, Catholic Paris Church of Saint Nicholas |
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| Michelangelo Buonarroti, The Brazen Serpent Italian, 1511 Vatican City, Apostolic Palace, Sistine Chapel |
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| Pierre Reymond, Bowl of an Enameled Tazza, Moses and the Brazen Serpent French, 1556 Paris, Musee du Louvre, Département des Objets d'art du Moyen Age, de la Renaissance et des temps modernes |
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| Anthony van Dyck, The Brazen Serpent Flemish, c. 1618-1620 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado |
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| Peter Paul Rubens, Moses and the Brazen Serpent Flemish, c. 1635-1640 London, National Gallery |
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| Tapestry After Charles Le Brun, Moses and the Brazen Serpent French, c. 1686 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
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| Brass Tobacco Box with Moses and the Brazen Serpent Dutch, 18th Century New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art |
Toward the middle of the eighteenth century Corrado Giaquinto used the same basic composition in two paintings, with different color effects, apparently to work out the details of the final fresco painting in Rome's church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. He managed to produce three similar paintings with three very distinct moods.
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| Corrado Giaquinto, the Brazen Serpent Italian, c. 1743-1744 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado |
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| Corrado Giaquinto, the Brazen Serpent Italian, c. 1743-1744 London, National Gallery |
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| Corrado Giaquinto, The Brazen Serpent Italian, c. 1749-1751 Rome, Church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme |
The Brazen Serpent as an Allusion to the Crucifixion
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| Allegory of Salvation From Bestiaire divin by Guillaume Le Clerc English, c. 1350-1375 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 14969, fol. 9 |
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| Agnolo Bronzino, The Brazen Serpent Italian, c. 1542 Florence, Palazzo Vecchio, Cappella di Eleonora |
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| Johann Brabender, The Brazen Serpent German, 1546 Hildesheim, Catholic Church of Saint Anthony |
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| Moses and the Brazen Serpent From a Book of Hours French (Paris), c. 1547-155 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 1429, fol. 37r |
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| Maarten van Heemskerck, The Brazen Serpent Flemish, 1549 Princeton (NJ), Princeton University Art Museum |
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| Athanodorus, Agesandrus and Polidorus of Rhodes, Laocöon and His Sons Roman, 40-20 BC Vatican City, Museo Pio Clementino, Cortile del Belvedere |
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Vincenzo Danti, Moses and the Brazen Serpent Italian, 1559 Florence, Museo Nazionale del Bargello |
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| Tintoretto, The Brazen Serpent Italian, c. 1575-1576 Venice, Scuola Grande di San Rocco |
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| Moses and the Brazen Serpent German, 1597 Augsburg, Cathedral, Chapel of Saint Luke |
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| Peter Paul Rubens, Moses and the Brazen Serpent Flemish, c. 1609-1610 London, Courtauld Institute of Art Gallery |
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| Fireback with Moses and the Brazen Serpent German, c. 1650-1700 London, Victoria and Albert Museum |
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| Sebastien Bourdon, Moses and the Brazen Serpent French, c. 1653-1654 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado |
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| Luca Giordano, Erection of the Brazen Serpent Italian, c. 1703-1704 Naples, Certosa di San Martino |
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| Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini, Moses and the Brazen Serpent Italian, 1707 Venice, San Moise |
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| Johann Jacob Stevens, The Brazen Serpent Czech, c. 1718-1725 Ossegg, Convent Chapel of the Assumption |
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| Franz Georg Hermann the Younger, Moses and the Brazen Serpent German, 1733 Markoberdorf, Church of Saint Martin |
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| Jean Charles Frontier, Moses and the Brazen Serpent French, c. 1750 Gray, Musée Baron Martin |
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| Charles Francois-Hutin, The Brazen Serpent French, 1753 Dresden, Holy Trinity Catholic Church |
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| William Blake, Moses Erecting the Brazen Serpent English, c. 1800-1803 Boston, Museum of Fine Arts |
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| James Tissot, Moses and the Brazen Serpent French, c.1896-1902 New York, Jewish Museum |
The Brazen Serpent and the Cross
Some images
went further. They made a direct
juxtaposition of the brazen serpent and Christ upon the Cross.
This appears to be seen first in devotional objects of metal, made during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in the area around the river Meuse (or Maas), which runs through the region now divided into the countries of France, Luxembourg, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. However, during the middle ages this region was distinct, politically united and independent.* From the division of the Carolingian Empire following the death of Charlemagne and his son this area was known as Lotharingia, then later it formed part of the greater duchy of Burgundy and was, to all intents and purposes, a separate country, caught between France and the Holy Roman Empire. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries it was noted for the quality and innovation of its metalworkers. Many famous works in metal were produced by the craftsmen living along its banks and in the surrounding areas, such as Cologne.
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| The Alton Towers Triptych Mosan (Cologne), c. 1150 London, Victoria and Albert Museum |
The story of salvation is displayed in this triptych, which was probably intended as a portable altarpiece. The central panel contains scenes from the life of Christ, while the two side panels contain scenes from the Old Testament that were seen as "types" for the Christian events. See the relevant pictures in the image below.
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| The Alton Towers Triptych, central scenes Mosan (Cologne), c. 1150 London, Victoria and Albert Museum Here we can get a better idea of how the composition works. In the central panel is a depiction of the Crucifixion with Christ on the cross between the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Evangelist. On the left panel is the scene of the Sacrifice of Isaac with the angel stopping Abraham's knife at the last moment. On the right panel is the scene of Moses and Aaron with the brazen serpent on a pole. Both Old Testament scenes refer to the self-sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and its wider significance. |
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| Altar Cross with Enamel Plaques Mosan (Hildesheim), c. 1160-1200 London, Victoria and Albert Museum |
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| Moses and the Brazen Serpent From an Altar Cross with Enamel Plaques Mosan (Hildesheim), c. 1160-1200 London, Victoria and Albert Museum |
There is also the chalice, known as the Bernward Chalice, after the bishop of Hildesheim who famously commissioned the first full scale pieces of architectural bronzework since the fall of the Roman Empire. In reality, the chalice (and its accompanying paten) were commissioned several decades after Bernward's death by one of his successors, Gerhard vom Berge. The body of the chalice features four scenes from the life of Christ, while the foot of the chalice features four related Old Testament "types" for the same events. The "type" which appears on the foot directly below the scene of the Crucifixion is that of the Brazen Serpent.3
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| The Bernward Chalice showing the Crucifixion German (Hildesheim), First Third of the Thirteenth Century Hildesheim, Papal Basilica of Saint Godehard |
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| The Crucifixion Detail from the Berward Chalice German (Hildesheim), First Third of the Thirteenth Century Hildesheim, Papal Basilica of Saint Godehard |
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| The Crucifixion Detail from the Berward Chalice German (Hildesheim), First Third of the Thirteenth Century Hildesheim, Papal Basilica of Saint Godehard |
However, the Bernward Chalice is not the only one to make this connection.
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| Chalice with Crucifixion on the Knob and Moses and the Brazen Serpent on the Foot German, c. 1230-1250 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Cloisters Collection |
However, in this case, the bowl of the chalice features engraved images of the apostles. It is on the knob that the Crucifixion scene appears. And, once again, the Old Testament scenes appear on the fool
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| Detail of the Foot of the Chalice Showing Moses and the Brazen Serpent German, c. 1230-1250 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Cloisters Collection |
Illuminators and painters also used the same arrangement in telling the story of salvation by Christ, including the Brazen Serpent among the significant Old Testament events that prefigured events in the life of Jesus Christ.
As, for instance, in this beautiful page from a Bible from Salzburg, which uses the motif of the tree of Jesse as a framework for presenting the three fold comparison of the Old and New Testaments.
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| Jesse Tree of "Types" From Biblia veteris et novi testamenti, the Grillinger Bible Austrian (Salzburg), c. 1428-1430 Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek MS Clm 15701, fol. 9v |
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| Detail of the Jesse Tree of "Types" featuring the Sacrifice of Abraham and the Brazen Serpent with the Crucifixion From Biblia veteris et novi testamenti, the Grillinger Bible Austrian (Salzburg), c. 1428-1430 Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek MS Clm 15701, fol. 9v |
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| Bedford Master and Workshop, Crucifixion From a Book of Hours French (Paris), c. 1430-1435 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 359, fol. 111v Here the image of Moses and the Brazen Serpent is found in the lower left corner.
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One of the
most common ways in which this direct juxtaposition was transmitted was through
works such as the Biblia pauperum,
which divided the history of salvation into three eras: Before the Law, that is stories from the Books
of Genesis and Exodus; Under the Law, that is the remainder of the books of the
Old Testament; and Under Grace, that is the books of the New Testament. The sample shown here compares the
Crucifixion with the Sacrifice
of Isaac, in which before the Law Abraham is willing to sacrifice his son, Isaac, at God’s
command and is stopped at the last minute by an angel, and the setting up of
the brazen serpent by Moses, under the Law. The
Crucifixion is under Grace and is the lifting up of God’s son as He willingly accepts a
sacrificial death to save mankind.
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| Rambures Master, Sacrifice of Isaac, Crucifixion of Jesus, Moses and the Brazen Serpent From a Biblia pauperum French (Amiens), c. 1470 The Hague, Meermano Museum MS MMW 10 A 15, fol. 32r |
Beyond the Medieval World
This method of presenting the parallels between the Old and New Testaments continued into the Renaissance/Reformation period and beyond.
In this enameled
pyx (a sacred vessel for storing the consecrated hosts after Mass), one side
depicts Moses and the Brazen Serpent, while the other side depicts the episode
of “Doubting Thomas” when the resurrected Jesus encourages the doubting
disciple, Thomas, to probe His wounds to prove that He is alive and no ghost.
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| Enamel Pyx with Moses and the Brazen Serpent French, c. 1501 Ratingen, Private Collection |
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| Enamel Pyx with The Risen Christ Displaying His Wounds to Doubting Thomas French, c. 1501 Ratingen, Private Collection |
The
early Protestant reformers adopted the image of the Brazen Serpent to emphasize
their belief that one is saved solely through grace and belief, without
necessarily engaging in good works. Lucas
Cranach the Younger produced what might be considered a painted manifesto of
this idea in his rather odd painting known as the Weimar Altarpiece.
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| Lucas Cranach the Younger, The Weimar Altarpiece, Center German, 1555 Weimar, Stadtkirch Sankt Peter und Paul |
In the famous Weimar Altarpiece by Lucas Cranach the Younger, we see Jesus in the foreground
twice. He is shown as the Crucified,
lifted on the cross. Blood pours from
His wounds as in a standard Catholic Crucifixion scene. However, one stream from His side projects
out and curves so as to hint that it will hit Martin Luther squarely in the
face, a possible sign of divine approbation.
Luther stands to the right of the picture, his finger pointing to a
passage in an open book, presumably his translation of the Bible. Behind him stands Lucas Cranach the Elder,
the painter’s father, who may have been an early convert to Luther’s point of
view (there is some uncertainty about this because, while producing work for
Luther, he also continued to produce works of art with a Catholic viewpoint). Behind Cranach is a figure that is usually
interpreted as John the Baptist, wearing a red cloak, the symbol of martyrdom,
over his goatskin clothing. He points up
at the Crucified Christ and down at the Paschal Lamb. At the left of the painting we see Jesus
again, as the Risen Savior, triumphing over Death and a monstrous devil. In the central background we see Moses
delivering the tablets of the Law to the people, while a skeletal figure chases
a near naked man away from the group.
Above the heads of Luther, Cranach and John the Baptist we see the
episode of Moses setting up the Brazen Serpent.
Nothing in the painting, however, is actually at odds with Catholic beliefs,
apart from the inclusion of Cranach and Luther.
Cranach, however, through his prayerful gesture hints at the common Catholic
practice of including living donors in prayer before sacred figures. Again, we are left in doubt about Cranach’s
real intentions
In Cristobal de Villalpando’s immense altarpiece for the Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Puebla, Mexico, there is little ambiguity, but there is a surprise. Villalpando chooses to compare the episode of the lifting up of the Brazen Serpent, not to the usual Crucifixion scene, but to the lifting up of Jesus during the Transfiguration. The theme is reinforced by the fact that his figure of Moses in the Transfiguration scene, is holding a staff with a winged snake, just like the one in the scene below.
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Even the largest ceiling fresco ever created, the incredible ceiling for the staircase hall of the residence of the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg, makes the connection between the Crucifixion and the Brazen Serpent. The work of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, the design program of the fresco is that of the sun, personified as Apollo at the apex of the ceiling, illuminating the world, with the personified continents arranged at the sides. In part of the painting representing the continent of Asia we can see both the Brazen Serpent on a pole and the hill of Calvary with two standing crosses.
In the painting above, made for a Catholic convent, Moses and the Brazen Serpent is seen just to the right of the Crucified Jesus, while in the painting below, made for a Protestant church, the two are presented directly opposite each other at the narrow ends of the ceiling. By the eighteenth century there was no difference in the iconography, just as before the Reformation.
An unusual instance of the juxtaposition of the Brazen Serpent with the Crucifixion was made in 1759 by Johann Woflgang Baumgartner for the Church of the Holy Cross in Bergen-bei-Neuberg. It is particularly unusual in that the image of Christ is not of the man on the cross, but of the child Jesus in Saint Joseph's workshop. While angels hover above and present the open Scriptures, a vision of Moses with the Brazen Serpent appears over Jesus' right shoulder. It is a reminder of what is to come rather than a memory of what is past.
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The Biblical Aftermath
While the
story of the setting up of the Brazen Serpent and its connection to the
Crucifixion are fairly common in the history of art, there is a small body of
works that record the after effects. All
of them date to the fourteenth century.
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| Hezekiah Destroys the Brazen Serpent From Histoires bibliques French (Saint-Quentin), 1350 Paris, Bibliotheque natinale de France MS Francais 1753, fol. 107v |
Apparently, the bronze serpent on a pole, set up by Moses, was preserved after the Israelites settled down and, over time, became an object of cult worship. However, the pious king of Judah, Hezekiah, who ruled during a period in which Jerusalem was besieged by the Assyrian king Sennacherib in the eighth century BC, destroyed such cult objects. As Second Book of Kings tells the story:
“In the third year of Hoshea, son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, king of Judah, became king.
He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi, daughter of Zechariah.
He did what was right in the LORD’s sight, just as David his father had done.
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It was he who removed the high places, shattered the pillars, cut down the asherah, and smashed the bronze serpent Moses had made, because up to that time the Israelites were burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.)
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| Jean Bandol and Others, Hezekiah Ordering the Smashing of the Brazen Serpent French (Paris), c. 1371-1372) The Hague, Meermano Museum MS MMW 10 B 23, fol. 184r |
He put his trust in the LORD, the God of Israel; and neither before nor
after him was there anyone like him among all the kings of Judah.
Hezekiah held fast to the LORD and never turned away from following
him, but observed the commandments the LORD had given Moses.”
2 Kings 18:1-6
Presumably, the people had lost track of the real meaning of the Brazen Serpent and were worshiping it as an idol in its own right and not as a helpful sign of God's love and protection.
© M. Duffy, 2018, images updated and new material added 2024
- Mellinkoff, Ruth. The Horned Moses in Medieval Art and Thought, Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press, 1970.
- Harrison, Jefferson C. “The Brazen Serpent” by Maarten van Heemskerck: Aspects of Its Style and Meaning, Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University, Volume 49, 1990, pp. 16-29.
- Medieval Treasures from Hildesheim. Edited by Peter Barnet, Michael Brandt and Gerhard Lutz, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2013, pp. 18-19, 115.
* In 1978 some of this old unity was restored when the European Union created the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion on some of the same old ground. It incorporates portions of Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium to work on cross-border projects that concern the entire region.
Scripture texts in this work are taken
from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by
permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New
American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from
the copyright owner.
greetings....
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Very nice. Thanks.
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