Bernhard von Reesen


Bernhard von Reesen was an art collector born to a patrician family in Danzig, in the Kingdom of Poland.
Reesen was highly educated as was the custom for men of his background at that time. As a wealthy businessman and civic official, at the age of thirty, Reesen commissioned Albrecht Dürer of Nuremberg to paint his portrait in 1520/21. The painting can be seen in the permanent exhibition of Old Masters in Dresden, Germany.
The Reesen name, with its prefix "von", indicates that the family had its origins in the city of Rees.