This is one of the best altar paintings produced by Jan Provost. Mary is depicted holding the Christ-Child and standing, lit by a golden glow, on a crescent moon in the clouds. One can almost hear the music being performed by the angels. The composition is crowned by depictions of God the Father and the Holy Spirit. In the foreground the artist has depicted the prophets and sibyls who are supposed to have predicted the coming of the Virgin Mary and Christ. The Persian sibyl holds a scroll inscribed Gremium Virginis erit salus gentium ("The lap of the Virgin became the salvation of nations"). The idea of extolling Christ in music and singing derives from the Psalms in which David called upon people to praise the Lord. All the personages, which include King David playing a harp and the Roman Emperor Augustus, are shown in the 16th-century dress.
This painting was produced for the altar of the prophet Daniel in the Sint-Donaaskerk cathedral in Bruges. During the religious upheavals of the 1560s, the painting was walled up to protect it from iconoclasts. In 1795, during the French occupation, the cathedral was destroyed and when it was dismantled, the hiding place and the painting were rediscovered. It was restored and became part of the collection of King William II of the Netherlands.