A crowd of anguished figures fills the foreground, their bodies twisted in pain as snakes coil around their limbs and bite into their flesh. The central group is dominated by a pale, bare-chested woman arching her arms above her head, her face contorted in distress, while an older woman beside her clutches a child and looks upward with desperate hope. At the lower edge, two muscular men writhe on the ground, their bodies entangled with serpents; one lies lifeless, his mouth open, while the other struggles to pull a snake from his arm.

To the right, a man in armor brandishes a snake in his raised fist, his face tense, while behind him a woman in a yellow garment gazes anxiously at the scene. Several children and infants are present, some clinging to their mothers, one reaching out, and another lifted by a woman in the midst of the turmoil. The background is filled with dark, swirling clouds, pierced by a shaft of light that falls on the central figures, heightening the drama and casting deep shadows across the scene.

The palette is dominated by earthy browns, ochres, and reds, with flashes of white and gold that catch the light, especially on flesh and drapery. Brushwork is energetic and visible, especially in the rendering of skin, hair, and the stormy sky, with loose, fluid strokes that create a sense of movement and urgency. The composition is tightly packed, with overlapping bodies and outstretched arms leading the viewer's eye from the suffering figures at the bottom to the staff with the bronze serpent at the upper left. The painting was created by Peter Paul Rubens between 1635 and 1640, with the date 1638 given in the National Gallery's records.