Brazen Serpent (c1638). Oil on canvas. 186 x 265. The Brazen Serpent is a painting by Peter Paul Rubens, probably dating to between 1635 and 1640. It is now in the National Gallery in London. Its shows a scene from the Old Testament. It seems to include some work by his students, who may have blocked it in from a modello by Rubens himself, with the artist working up the result.