[1] Its last private owner was Prince Giovanelli, prior to its entering the collection of the Gallerie dell'Accademia.

The background displays castles, a gated city (possibly Ancona),[2] and a countryside punctuated by houses and a shepherd with his flock.

The distant mountains are painted with blue to capture a misty quality, after the Venetian rules of aerial perspective.

[3] The people in the foreground are separated from the background in a typical 15th-century manner (as used by Bellini in his Madonna del Prato), but given atmospheric qualities thanks to the use of warm lighting.

The landscape and the figures are unified through their shared use of delicate, clear tones of color.