G. Decapmaker, Brussels, by 1942;
His deceased sale, Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, 11-12 May 1966, lot 19;
Anonymous sale, Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, 11 May 1999, lot 303 (as Rubens, called Moses and the Brazen Serpent).

E. Greindl, "Ein unveröffentlichtes Werk Rubens' Jugendzeit," in Pantheon, 1942, pp. 42-43, reproduced (as Rubens);
H. G. Evers, Rubens und sein Werk, neue Forschungen, Brussels 1943, p. 375, no. 15 (as by Rubens);
Possibly T. Rombouts and P. van Lerius, De Liggeren en andere historische archieven van het Antwerpsche Sint-Lucasgilde, vol. I, Antwerp, p. 402 (as by Rubens, called Moses and the Brazen Serpent);
M. Rooses, L'oeuvre de P.P. Rubens, histoire et description de ses tableaux et dessins, vol. I, Antwerp 1886, p. 138, no. 110.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This work on oak panel has what appears to be an original join running vertically through the center. There is an additional restored crack in the upper left corner and another repaired small 2 inch crack above the serpent in the upper right. The paint layer is stable and the restoration is still effective. There is an attractive transparency to the paint layer, which seems to be intended. There is no notable thinness or abrasion. Although the left shadowed side of the face and in the hair may have received some retouching, the health of the picture is evident. There are isolated spots of retouching here and there in the torso, but the restorations are mainly focused on the original panel join and the other aforementioned cracks to the panel. If the varnish were freshened and perhaps the restoration to some of the cracks and panel joins improved, the work could be hung as is.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

This confidently executed painting illustrates the extremely rare subject of Christ and the Brazen Serpent, an entirely unique image in the output of Rubens. The design and invention of the composition can be attributed to Rubens himself, though the majority of its execution was likely executed by a workshop assistant under Rubens' direct supervision.

The painting is a variant of a lost original by Rubens depicting Christ with the Cross, which served as one in a series of thirteen panels from circa 1610-12 representing Christ and the Apostles. That painting originally formed part of the collection of Don Francisco Gomez de Sandoval y Royas, the Duke of Lerma in 1618.  Though the complete series of Apostles has been preserved intact at the Museo Nacional del Prado (inv. nos. (P01646-P01657), no prime version of the central figure of Christ from which the present work derives has emerged.¹ 

In no other compositions does Rubens depict Christ with the Old Testament symbol of the brazen serpent, an iconographic emblem traditionally paired with Moses. In fact, the painting has been previously been identified as a Moses and the Brazen Serpent (see Provenance). Following recent cleaning, however, a clearer reading of the picture has led to the present, more plausible identi𝔉fication of Christ. The restoration of the picture brought into view not only a more youthful figure, further away from the usual depiction of Mose as an older man, but also most convincingly, the mark of the stigmata now visible on Christ's right hand.

The iconography of the serpent has ties to both New Testament and Old Testament scripture. Numbers 21:4-9 recounts the story of the Israelites, who, while wandering the desert, criticized both God and Moses. As punishment, God sent poisonous fiery serpents to bite and burn the resentful Israelites. After they had confessed their sin to Moses, God instructed Moses to construct a brass serpent to be displayed on a pole. To alleviate their pain from the snakes, whoever gazed upon the brass serpent would be saved. New Testament writing alludes directly to this story, in an effort to link Christ with the Brazen Serpent itself as the savior of mankind. John 3:14 directly references the earlier story: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up". With this context in mind, it becomes clear that ꦛthe intention of this painting is to align Christ with an earlier symbol of universal salvation. 

A dating of the present picture to about the same moment of the original Apostle Series and lost Christ with the Cross, circa 1610-12, is supported by recent dendrochronological analysis of the three boards which comprise the finished panel. According to this analysis, the three different eastern Baltic oak trees from which the boards originated would have been felled after 1607. Although it is difficult to be certain how long the wood was stored before it was formed into a panel and then used, it does provide a terminus post quem for the painting.²

1. Numerous workshop versions of that specific composition are extant, the best of which is located in the National Gallery of Canada, Ottowa (inv. 3696). 
2. A full coᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚpy of the dendrochronology report by Ian Tyers is a꧟vailable upon request from the department and will be supplied to the buyer.