Oprichting van de koperen slang 1538

Curator: Hans Holbein the Younger created this remarkable print, a woodcut in ink, titled "The Raising of the Brazen Serpent," around 1538. Editor: My initial reaction is how the composition emphasizes a kind of graphic horror. Bodies contort in agony in the foreground. The stark, unwavering line work accentuates the physical distress. Curator: The scene depicts a moment from the Book of Numbers. The Israelites, punished with venomous snakes, are instructed by God, through Moses, to look upon a bronze serpent mounted on a pole for salvation. The image powerfully encapsulates themes of divine intervention and repentance. Holbein translates this biblical story through the visual vernacular of his time. The brazen serpent as symbol – very charged. Editor: Agreed, there's an almost brutal simplicity in the composition. Holbein directs the eye using clearly defined figures, set against a minimal backdrop. That serves to focus our attention so specifically on their suffering, and of course, that central emblem, the brazen serpent. Curator: Note also how he has rendered Moses. With regal clothing and emphatic gesture, he points the viewers towards the scene as much as he indicates the cure to those afflicted within the image. Editor: You know, looking at the gestures of desperation, I'm reminded of Renaissance plague imagery. Holbein uses posture to telegraph complex emotional states, even in this small scale. The economy of detail is incredible. Curator: Precisely! Serpents, historically symbols of evil and chaos, now become instruments of healing under divine mandate. This paradox of how symbols transform across contexts – even invert completely – that's where so much power lies! Editor: And Holbein orchestrates all these visual elements into a compelling narrative experience. Curator: Indeed, it resonates across time, this tale. It highlights how deeply humans embed significance into simple visual forms. Editor: An early expression, rendered in print, it nevertheless delivers tremendous emotional impact, achieved with precise artistic decisions.