Characteristic of Jordaens' artistic style is the manner in which all the figures are pushed forward toward the front of the composition, crowded together in this small space. Jordaens uses tenebrism and chiaroscuro to create dramatic lighting, which illuminates certain figures in the scene, such as the baby in the old woman's lap. Jordaens creates a sense of naturalism with the depiction of the dirty feet of the seated peasant seated in the foreground, linking him with the Caravaggistic tendencies in Flemish art of the time. Jordaens created two versions of this subject around 1620–21. For this version, it seems he may have used the same female sitter for "The Satyr and the Peasant" as he did for "The Adoration of the Shepherds", and it is thought that Jordaens used this painting as instruction for his assistants and pupils, as many versions and copies of the scene have been found which bear the same style, but without the master's stamp.