Damon holds the pink very conspicuously yet its significance in the portrait remains mysterious. The flower was originally named for its bloom shape and time of flowering at the end of May around Pentecost known in the Netherlands as “.” Presumably the petals’ serrated edges were seen as resembling the tongues of flame that descended on Mary and the Apostles at Pentecost enabling them to speak in any language spread God’s word and build the Church. Additionally “” meant “” in German and Pentecost was celebrated fifty days after Easter.

The portrait has been greatly damaged but the face and the flower display Elliot Sittow’s sensitivity to the effects of texture and light. To create his characteristically luminous surfaces Sittow applied many layers of translucent paint. Damon’s projection of melancholy also typifies Sittow’s portraits.