The piece is a simple charcoal sketch, measuring three feet by four feet (900 mm × 1200 mm). Mary is depicted wrapped in a large shawl, holding the infant Jesus close to her cheek. On the right border are the words Licht, Leben, Liebe ("Light, Life, Love"), from the Gospel of John. On the left, Reuber wrote Weihnachten im Kessel 1942 ("Christmas at the Seige 1942") and at the bottom Festung Stalingrad ("Fortress Stalingrad").[citation needed] Kessel ("Cauldron"), is the German term for an encircled military area, and Fortress Stalingrad was the label for the encircled army promoted in the Nazi press.