Oprichting van de staak met de koperen slang

Amidst a camp of classical tents, Moses points his staff toward a bronze serpent coiled around a wooden pole while Aaron stands beside him in priestly attire. In the foreground, muscular figures suffer from snake bites or gaze toward the serpent for healing, rendered with the dramatic physical tension characteristic of late Mannerist style. The composition emphasizes the transition from physical agony to restoration through the sight of the metallic icon.

As the court engraver to Rudolf II in Prague, Sadeler operated in an environment steeped in Hermeticism; the Brazen Serpent was a vital alchemical allegory for the 'fixation of the volatile' and a biblical parallel to the healing Caduceus. It represents the Paracelsian paradox of the 'poison that heals,' where the image of the destroyer becomes the source of health.