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The two panels, depicting the Birth of the Virgin ad the Annunciation, form a pair and relate two episodes from the life of the Virgin. Stylistically they are heavily indebted to the Early Netherlandish painters, such as Jan van Eyck and the Master of Flémalle. The artist has treated The Birth of the Virgin as a domestic scene, filling the room with details and everyday objects. Various women surround St Anne as they perform their tasks. This type of painting, which delights in decoration and wealth of detail, was developed at around this period in Antwerp by a group of little-known painters, among them de Beer. They are sometimes referred to as the Antwerp Mannerists.
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