Maria met kind in een landschap

The Virgin holds a book while the Christ Child reaches for a bird, surrounded by a diverse array of fauna including a fox, a dog, a crab, and owls nestled in a hollow tree. In the distance, the Star of Bethlehem illuminates the announcement to the shepherds and the arrival of the Magi. The scene combines traditional religious iconography with an encyclopedic, detailed recording of the natural world.

This work exemplifies the Northern Renaissance concept of the 'Book of Nature,' where the diversity of creation is viewed as a divine script. It reflects the transition from symbolic medieval bestiaries to the proto-scientific naturalism that would later characterize the collection and study of nature at the Rudolfine court in Prague.