On the back of the canvas we read that “Cesare Ligari son of Pietro painted this, in Venice, 1740”. The work was donated to the Ambrosiana by a descendant of theirs, Angelo Ligari. The painting shows the episode described in the Book of Numbers (Nm 21: 4-9): God sent poisonous serpents to punish the Israelites for their lamentations and, when Moses begged him to put an end to the massacre, the Lord ordered that a copper serpent should be raised up on a stake: all those who were bitten by a serpent would be saved if they looked at the effigy.
From 18.00 to 19.30 pm entrance to the Pinacoteca and Crypt at the special price of €3.00
