This ‘nocturne’ is part of a large set of ten paintings allusive to the life of Christ commissioned by the Bishop D. Afonso de Castelo-Branco for the Mannerist sacristy in the Sé de Coimbra. Light plays an important role in emphasizing the main figures and in linking the scenes of the various panels of the group.
The composition of this theme, relating to the life of Christ, is characteristically Mannerist in style which can be seen in the spatial relationship of the figures, the elongation and volume of the anatomies and the colour palette which includes a lilac pink, yellow and green.