Margareta Charlotta Hårleman was the daughter of the royal gardener and orangery specialist Johan Hårleman. It therefore seems natural to depict her in a garden, but the carnation (dianthus) she is holding also symbolises Jesus Christ’s suffering, death, resurrection and salvation. Perhaps this is a reminder of the fleeting nature of life. Margareta Charlotta was widowed at the young age of 30 and she passed away two decades later.