This triptych was executed for the church of Saint Gudule in Brussels. According to Carel van Mander (1604) it was subsequently sold "for a very high price to Spain". Philip II sent it to El Escorial in 1586. Coxcie spent time in Italy and his style was inspired by Roman Renaissance painting. The old woman reading in The Birth of the Virgin is based on the Persian Sibyl in Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling. The artist also remained faithful to the Netherlandish tradition, evident in the realistic manner of depicting the objects and in the church interior, reminiscent of Van Eyck, where Mary’s death takes place.