Leon Battista Alberti, Self-Portrait Essay

This is a self-portrait of Leon Battista Alberti, made in 1435 on a bronze plate. Alberti here is depicted in the image of a Roman. To the left of his head there is a winged eye, which was the personal symbol of Alberti (this symbol refers to the Egyptian hieroglyphic tradition, where the eye symbolized the god). (Beard, 2001)
On the reverse side of the plate there is an inscription which reads: «Quid tum?» So what? (Latin). Now it is located in the National Gallery of Art in Washington.