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This is an unusual depiction of the Virgin and Child by Morales, particularly so in its inclusion of the young St John the Baptist in the background. St. John's presence adds a narrative element to a scene that, for the most part, Morales almost always confines to a simple interaction between mother and child. Here however, creeping into view from behind, we see St John making direct eye contact with us, cheekily imploring us to remain quiet for fear of awakening his young cousin who sleeps cradled against his mother's bosom. His inclusion turns the painting from one of, and for, mere devotion into something familial; it adds a sense of domesticity and informality to an otherwise purely devotional depiction of the Virgin and Child.
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