The Life of St. Paul: The Viper in Malta

Circa 1857-60
Oil on canvas
Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, Rome

This is from a series of paintings by various artists that line the nave and transept of the basilica.

In Malta a viper bites Paul's hand and the people decide he must be a murderer whom Justice will not allow to live. But he simply shakes the viper off without being harmed, so they think he must be a god. See Acts 28:3-6.

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View the page that links to the other paintings in the series.
Read more about St. Paul.

Photographed at the basilica by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.