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In this painting, the Christ child has plucked a date from the palm tree and, with the help of his mother Mary, is offering it to the child Saint John the Baptist. In the scene, Mary sits between the two children, just as her religious role could be seen as a link between the divine in her son Jesus Christ and everyday people represented by John the Baptist. The gestures of Mary and Saint John help to lead our eyes up to the most important figure in the painting, the Christ Child.

Setting these figures in a landscape was an innovation for Renaissance artists. Before the Renaissance, the only setting people thought worthy of Christ and the saints was a heavenly one. Flat gold backgrounds that represented the atmosphere of heaven were commonly used in paintings and mosaics. As the emphasis on the works of human beings grew and interest in the works of God became less important, saints and other holy figures began to occupy the same landscapes that people saw around them everyday.

Toward the bottom of this painting a set of letters represent the artist's signature. In Latin, they stand for the words "Julianius Florentinus Facit." Translated, it means "Giuliano of Florence made this."

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