The contract for the realization of the work was signed in August 1474 by Antonello and Giuliano Maniuni, a priest from Palazzolo Acreide, for the local church of Santa Maria Annunziata.

The scene is set in a small room with a decorated beamed ceiling, supported by two columns which separate the right half of the painting (with the Virgin) from the left one (with the Angel).

The background wall has two windows, with a third in another room visible on the right, according to an iconography derived from the Flemish painting, using different light sources and spatial openings also in interiors.

They include the Virgin's bed in the background room, the prie-dieu on which she is kneeling, the vase with a blue and white decoration in the foreground (now damaged).

The face, crowned by long blonde hair, is adorned with a blue diadem, pearls and a ruby, typical details of the Flemish school.