Catherine Howard, Lady d'Aubigny

Fashionably attired in a rose-colored dress with low-cut bodice and flowing sleeves, Catherine Howard, Lady d'Aubigny, looks over her shoulder with a proud and forthright gaze as she holds a floral wreath in her right hand. One of the many English aristocrats who commissioned portraits from Anthony van Dyck after he settled in London in 1632, Catherine Howard was the daughter of Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, and Elizabeth, daughter of George Lord Hume, Earl of Dunbar. She thus belonged to one of the wealthiest and most distinguished families in England.

It is probable that Van Dyck received this commission in 1638 at the time of Catherine's secret marriage to Lord George Stuart, Seigneur d'Aubigny. In the Arcadian ambience of the Stuart court, the floral wreath would have been recognized as a symbol of love and marriage. Stylistically, the portrait is also similar to other refined portraits of elegant women that Van Dyck executed in 1638, particularly in the delicate modeling of her ivory flesh and the flickering highlights of her silk dress.

[Source: NGA]

Note by the contributor Emily Wilkinson:
Catherine Howard, or Lady d'Aubigny, was a well-known beauty in early modern high society. She married Lord George Stuart, and Van Dyck painted this portrait shortly after the wedding; the roses she holds refer to her new status as wife.

More information: Lady Aubigny on the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography