This work has been dated to around 1523. Painted by Larciani in Tuscany, the northern influence of woodcuts by Albrecht Durer can be seen in the variety of vegetation. The exaggerated muscles of the Christ child, the contorted hand of the Virgin Mother and the caricatured face of St Joseph suggest a mannerist avoidance of realism. The pairing of angels and babies add to this contrived composition with interior space to one side and distance to the other.