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Artists during the Renaissance often turned to Psalms in the Old Testament of the Bible for inspiration when painting scenes from stories in the New Testament of the Bible. The unidentified artist of this picture approached the story of the Adoration of the Magi, given in Matthew (2:1-12), from the point of view suggested by Psalm 72:

He will rule from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
The desert tribes will bow before him
and his enemies will lick the dust.
The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores
will bring tribute to him;
the kings of Sheba and Seba
will present him gifts.
All kings will bow down to him
and all nations will serve him.

The artist who painted this picture included representatives of cultures that were being explored by Europeans of the time. The exotic scene includes animals as well as people from different cultures. The artist also included landscape and architecture but transported the figures forward in time. The architecture and the clothing of the crowd who assembled to worship the Christ child, do not represent the ancient Middle East of the Bible but instead Renaissance Europe. Rather than represent a star in the night sky for the Magi to follow, as in the biblical story, the artist included a tiny golden angel holding a star medallion inside the top of the architectural arch.

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