The painting belongs to the triangular vault section of the short Gothic presbytery with a ribbed vault. The entire section is covered with an artful combination of fleshy vegetation, dominated by acanthus leaves. One of the curved acanthus leaves features a monochrome painting of a man’s face with deep eye wrinkles and a slightly closed left eye – in all likelihood a concealed self portrait of the painter.
The presbytery and the triumphal arch wall were painted according to the iconographic scheme of the so-called Carniolan presbytery, which was typical for central Slovenia from around 1420
to around 1535/1540. Johannes de Laybaco, the author of the acanthus leaf mask in Kamni vrh, was originally from Carinthia. He settled in the area around 1440 through the support of the Abbot of Viktring, Oswald Gradenegg, and quickly adapted to the demands and expectations of the clients on the southern side of the Karavanke. Not long after his arrival, he also became a burgher of Ljubljana.
The wall paintings in Kamni vrh, dated 1459, are his last known work. Both the style and execution of the frescoes reveal the skilful hand of a painted who remained faithful to the late International Soft Style throughout his career. The painted figures in Kamni vrh differ from the earlier ones in the slightly more expressive characterisation of the faces.
Kamni vrh pri Ambrusu, succursal Church of St Peter