Comprising three panels, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi and the Presentation in the Temple, this painting is earlier than the triptych on the same subject painted by Memling for Jan Floreins in 1479. It is clearly influenced by Van der Weyden, as are other works by the artist. In this work, the unified space represented in the Nativity and the Adoration of the Magi is noteworthy. It was a
The Virgin appears seated in a walled garden, an allusion to the hortus conclusus or enclosed garden, which symbolizes her perpetual virginity. In her arms she holds the Christ Child, who takes an apple from an angel´s hand, a clear allusion to the redemption of the original sin. On the other side, a second angel plays a viola of arc. The composition derives from a model by Rogier van der Weyden a