The pool called Bethesda at Jerusalem was believed to possess miraculous healing powers after its disturbance by an angel (John v. 1-9). Here the sick and crippled, with their attendants, congregate around the rectangular pool, which is surrounded by an arcade, through which, at the rear, is visible the entrance to a temple. In the foreground, two men help an invalid off his horse. Christ, at the right, blesses a naked disabled person.

The painting is reminiscent of Tintoretto and of Bassano, particularly in the drapery, but it is attributed to Bassano’s Spanish pupil Pedro Orrente. The composition may be compared with his Marriage at Cana, at La Guardia, and his Pool of Bethesda, in Vienna, which is very different in figure-scale, but is clearly by the same hand.

A version or copy of the painting is in the collection of Durham University (No. 181227).