In the painting, the moment of the encounter of the Holy Family with John the Baptist and his parents is depicted. 

In the foreground on the left, the Madonna holds the Baby Jesus, while on the right, Elizabeth holds her John the Baptist who is supported on her knee. At the feet of John the Baptist, his scroll is placed, bearing the inscription 'Ecce Agnus Dei Ecce Qui (Tollit Pec)cata (Mundi)' (Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us).

In the center of the painting, the outstretched arms of the two infants – almost touching fingers – seal the sacredness of the encounter.

Behind the foreground group, there are three standing figures: on the left, John the Baptist's father, Zechariah, faces Joseph, who participates with vigorous gestures in the event, while on the right side, the maid holding two doves in one hand and a flask in the other, witnesses the encounter of the two families.

The meeting takes place in an interior characterized by architectural elements with a classical taste: an arch decorated with fluted columns opens the scene to a distant landscape.

The episode, absent in both the New Testament and the Apocryphal Gospels, is narrated for the first time in the compilation handed down under the title of Meditationes vitae Christi attributed in its final version to Giovanni de' Cauli (who lived in the 14th century).