Bernhard von Reesen Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528)

Description of Albrecht Dürer’s Portrait of a Young Man

"Portrait of a Young Man," painted in 1521, belongs to the late work of Albrecht Dürer. At that time he was already an accomplished portrait painter, having painted several dozen portraits of famous people of his time.

In painting his portraits, Dürer sought to convey precisely the spiritual essence of the person portrayed.

In this regard, Portrait of a Young Man is considered one of the best illustrations.

The young man is holding a piece of paper, probably a letter, on which you can read part of the address - "Dem pernh... zw...". The rest of the name is covered with fingers. For quite a long time it was believed that the picture depicts the famous South Dutch painter, court painter of Charles V Bernart van Orleij. At this point there is speculation that the man’s name is Bernhard von Riesen, mentioned by Dürer in his personal diaries. He was a merchant from Danzig. According to Dürer’s records, the artist received eight florins for this painting.

The image was done in oil on wood and took up the whole board. Both margins of the hat had to be trimmed.

The young man is dressed in the German fashion of the first half of the 16th century. The dark tones of the clothing allow us to concentrate on the young man’s face. His facial features are very correct and expressive: a clearly outlined chin, slightly pensive eyes looking at something in the distance, the crease of his lips indicate that this was a strong-willed, energetic, purposeful man. Unfortunately, it is impossible to know how good a physiognomist Dürer showed himself in this case.

Bernhard von Riesen died at the age of thirty, a few months after painting in October 1521, during another epidemic of plague. There is, however, no definite proof that it is his image on the painting.