A young mother in a pale veil and blue-grey cloak kneels over the newborn in a manger, swaddled in white linen, while a bearded father presses his hands in prayer and a shepherd woman in a dark head wrap kneels with hands clasped. Shadowy shepherds and elders stand at the edges, partly lost in darkness. A hay bale, a clay jug, wooden beams and draped cloth fill out the rustic stable, and a single small radiant star hangs at the upper center.

The lighting is dramatic chiaroscuro in the manner of Dutch and Italian Baroque masters: the only strong light pools on the white linens and spills softly onto faces and hands, while the rest falls away into deep soft shadow. Loose brushstrokes, soft impasto on the drapery highlights and thin glazed darks give the oil painting a hushed, reverent, tender feel.