The attribution of this work to Josefa de Óbidos was made by Benito Navarrete. Even though the artist was born in Seville, she moved to Óbidos as a child and spent the rest of her life in Portugal; therefore, she is generally included in the Portuguese school and it is actually unusual to find her works in Spain.

The treatment of the figures, with their soft, sweet faces, and the decorative framing of this Nativity are removed from the conventions in force in Europe in the second half of the 17^th century, at that time shifting towards Baroque naturalism away from the classicist idealisation of the Renaissance.

There are similarities with Adoration of the Shepherds, a work by the same artist at Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga in Lisbon, painted in 1669. The cartouche with the cords and garlands of flowers can also be compared with the different versions of Agnus Dei in Braga (Congregados Basilica) and Evora (Museu Regional).

The motto “Gloria in altissimis Deo” can be read in the phylactery.