This painting depicts the appearance of the angelic choir on the night of the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:13). They sang, “Glory to God in the Highest, and Peace to his People on Earth.” Light pours in from heaven as the heavenly interacts with the earthly.

In the foreground, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus form the Holy Family, which is echoed in the three animals of the stable. The lamb, watched over by its mother, approaches Jesus, and the donkey, the laborer, watches over them both.