Bernhard von Reesen (1521). Oil on panel. 46 x 32. Bernhard von Reesen was an art collector born to a patrician family in Danzig, in Kingdom of Poland. Reesen received an extensive education as was the custom of that time for men of his background. As did many other well-off business men and statesmen, at the age of thirty, Reesen commissioned Albrecht Dürer of Nuremberg to paint his portrait in 1520/21. The painting can still be seen at the exhibit of Old Masters in Dresden, Germany. The Reesen name, with the word von, indicates that his family had its origins in the city of Rees.