The painting includes a large composition with a rather reduced use of a gilded background, a typical element of most Lorenzo's works. The upper part is in the form of a frame creating a triptych.
On the left is portrayed the nativity scene, within an architecture showing Lorenzo's refusal of the contemporary introduction of geometrical perspective in art. The Madonna, wearing a dark blue garment with three stars (symbols of virginity), is sitting on a stone and showing the Christ child to the spectators. St. Joseph is sitting in the lower left corner and looking upwards.
The centre and right scenes are occupied by the Magi's procession. Differently from the Gospel tradition, they are not all portrayed as old men, but with three different ages symbolizing the ages of man. Their followers include a variety of ethnicities, from the Moors to the Tatars, as well as animals such as hounds and camels. In the upper part is a landscape of Giottoesque inspiration. The garments of the standing Magi and the one next to him have writing in Arabic.
In the cusps are a Blessing Redeemer and, in the middle, two prophets. In the 15th century between the cusps were added two further prophets and an Annunciation, partly executed by Cosimo Rosselli.
