Focus on Portrait of Bernhart von Reesen and explain the Identification of the sitter.
The sitter for the portrait has been identified on the basis of the letter he is holding in his hands and the entry in Dürer's diary.  Although the writing is hard to make out, it has been determined that the man should be identified with Bernhard von Reesen. Von Reesen was a successful merchant from Gdańsk who was living in Antwerp at the time. He was thirty years old when the portrait was painted.  He died the same year.Some scholars have identified the sitter in the past with the Flemish painter Bernard van Orley from Brussels whom Dürer met during his stay in Brussels.  This view was debunked in 1972 by Dr. Erna Brand who conclusively showed that the sitter was in fact Bernhard von Reesen.
Bernhard von Reesen Bernard van Orley Antwerp Gdańsk Brussels