Stylistic and Iconographic Analysis Majestic and solemn, Virgin Mary rises gloriously in her monumental vision. The representation is derived from the Byzantine model of the Virgin, Theotokos (a Greek word meaning "Mother of God" or, literally, "God-bearer"), since she is enthroned on a podium serving as a throne to Baby Jesus. In addition, she is richly dressed and crowned as the Queen of Heaven. These titles, as well as the bouquet of lilies she is holding on her left hand, a symbol of purity and chastity, are meant to stress the mystery of her divine motherhood. It looks as if the painter had stopped time in order to depict the very few minutes when the Virgin, the loving mother, has retracted her attention from her child. The self-absorption in her look evokes a deep inner life, while the gentle melancholy of her face reveals the pain driven by the future Passion, anticipating the theme of Piety, a feeling which, though subtle, contributes to the humanization of the character. By contrast, Jesus tries to regain her interest by raising his eyes to look at her, showing the little bird which, tied by its leg, he is firmly holding on his left hand. The assimilation of the bird with the human soul has its roots in Ancient Egypt, and it was a common belief within Mediterranean civilizations; for Christian religiosity, this detail needs to be interpreted as the soul redeemed by Christ's sacrifice, or as Christ himself apprehended for the salvation of humanity.
If the warm relation between the sacred people gives the scene an eternity framework, the company of six musical angels takes it closer to a paradisiacal state. They are playing the tambourine, the vihuela, the lute, a double flute, the rebec, and the portable organ. We should point out the in the tracery carved on the sounding board of the vihuela and the lute.