Heerberg altar: Self-portrait in tendrils

The inclusion of a self-portrait hidden within a decorative tendril — a concealed self-portrait of the kind known from medieval manuscript illumination — is a remarkable departure in the context of an altarpiece commission. Zeitblom concealed his likeness within the decorative foliage of the Heerberg altar from 1497, inserting his own image into the decorative borders of a sacred commission as scribes and illuminators had done in manuscripts. This self-portrait in tendrils, now in the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, documents his awareness of himself as an author claiming personal presence within the religious work he was paid to produce.

Concealing a self-portrait within decorative vegetation required integrating the face into a non-figurative context, legible only on close inspection. The technical challenge is distinct from a conventional portrait — the face must emerge from the tendrils rather than a neutral ground.