[1] The Adoration of the Magi shows a nocturnal scene with Mary bending over the Child while the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh are presented by the three kings Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar with their entourages in procession.

The robes of Melchior and Caspar are held by boys, continuing an Antwerp pictorial tradition started by Peter Paul Rubens.

According to the museum, the painting's provenance goes back only as far as the heirs of Joan de Vries of Amsterdam in 1708.

[2] Behind and above them, centrally placed in the composition, is the magi Balthazar, standing under a parasol with the star of Bethlehem shining above him.

Many aspects of the fashions and poses in the composition are taken directly from earlier Rembrandt paintings, such as his 1634 version of the same subject, now in the Hermitage: This painting was once in the collection of William V, Prince of Orange and was purchased by him in The Hague in 1762 as by another Rembrandt pupil, Gerbrand van den Eeckhout.