The two side wings show the donors of the altar, on the left Jean Comte de La Tour d'Auvergne and on the right his wife Jeanne de Bourbon-Vendôme, Comtesse de Boulogne et d'Auvergne. Their names, Jean and Jeanne, are the French male and female equivalents of the name John, thus creating a connection between the depicted and their patron saints. On the left wing, John the Baptist is depicted behind the Comte de La Tour, recognizable by his attributes: the penitent's camel-hair shirt, which recalls his stay in the desert, and the lamb, which refers to his saying “Behold, the Lamb of God”. On the right wing, behind the Comtesse, John the Evangelist can be recognized by his poison-filled chalice (indicated by the dragon), which, according to legend, he was forced to drink.

In the French verses on the banners above the donors, the Virgin Mary is called upon for help. The verses on the left scroll refer to the Annunciation of Gabriel and ask that the Comte be successful in all his tasks. In the verses on the right, the Countess asks to be blessed with children to save her soul. As the Count and Countess married in 1495 and presumably had their first child in 1498, the inscription on the painting dates to around 1497, which is consistent with the results of the dendrochronological report by Prof. Dr. Peter Klein, which established that the oak tree used was felled in Burgundy in 1478 and that the painting was painted from 1490 onwards.

Stylistically, the painting can be dated to the beginning of the Renaissance in France. The treatment of the landscape background not only shows the Renaissance's interest in depicting biblical events in a natural setting. The unabashed pleas of the donors are also directly related to the church feast of the Annunciation on March 25 by the spring-like background that runs through all three panels.

Art historical research has long been concerned with locating the master of the Latour d'Auvergne triptych artistically. Although various theories have been put forward in recent decades, there is only one other work, a small painting of the Virgin and Child in a private collection (Sterling 1991, fig. 6), which is clearly attributed to him. However, with its aristocratic and dynastic intent, the triptych fits in with the great Bourbon commissions of the period around 1500.