Bernhard von Reesen was from a well-to-do family of the Hansa city of Danzig/Gdansk. He was born around 1490 and 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, von Reesen commissioned Albrecht Duerer of Nuremberg to paint his portrait in 1520/21. The painting can still be seen at the exhibit of Old Masters in Dresden, Germany.
