Protoevangelio de Santiago
The theme of the frescoes is connected to the contemporary dispute about the Immaculate Conception of Mary, involving the question of whether she had been born without the original sin: the dispute saw the Franciscans and the Benedictines (including the Vallumbrosan Order holding the church at the time) against the Dominicans. Monaco's frescoes were inspired by the apocryphal Gospel of James, dealing with Mary's infancy and supporting the Vallumbrosan's view that she had been not naturally born by her father.