Portrait of Bernhard von Reesen, 1521 Albrecht Durer (1471-1528)

We create our paintings with museum quality and covering the highest academic standards. Once we get your order, it will be entirely hand-painted with oil on canvas. All the materials we use are the highest level, being totally artist graded painting materials and linen canvas.

We will add 1.6" (4 cm) additional blank canvas all over the painting for stretching.

High quality and detailing in every inch are time consuming. The reproduction of Albrecht Durer also needs time to dry in order to be completely ready for shipping, as this is crucial to not be damaged during transportation.
Based on the size, level of detail and complexity we need 8-9 weeks to complete the process.

In case the delivery date needs to be extended in time, or we are overloaded with requests, there will be an email sent to you sharing the new timelines of production and delivery.

TOPofART wants to remind you to keep patient, in order to get you the highest quality, being our mission to fulfill your expectations.

We not stretch and frame our oil paintings due to several reasons:
Painting reproduction is a high quality expensive product, which we cannot risk to damage by sending it being stretched.
Also, there are postal restrictions, regarding the size of the shipment.
Additionally, due to the dimensions of the stretched canvas, the shipment price may exceed the price of the product itself.

You can stretch and frame your painting in your local frame-shop.

Once the painting Portrait of Bernhard von Reesen is ready and dry, it will be shipped to your delivery address. The canvas will be rolled-up in a secure postal tube.

We offer free shipping as well as paid express transportation services.

After adding your artwork to the shopping cart, you will be able to check the delivery price using the Estimate Shipping and Tax tool.

The paintings we create are only of museum quality. Our academy graduated artists will never allow a compromise in the quality and detail of the ordered painting. TOPofART do not work, and will never allow ourselves to work with low quality studios from the Far East. We are based in Europe, and quality is our highest priority.

Albrecht Dürer's "Portrait of Bernhard von Reesen" from 1521. This small yet commanding work grabs you with its startling immediacy - a Renaissance selfie, if you will, crackling with youthful vitality.

Dürer gives us a close-up view of this dashing young burgher, his face emerging from the shadowy background like a pale moon. The sitter's gaze is direct, almost challenging - there's no demure downcast eyes here. This chap knows his worth and isn't afraid to show it.

The composition is masterfully simple. Our man fills the frame, his broad-brimmed hat forming a dark halo that echoes the inky depths behind him. It's a study in contrasts - light against dark, youth against the void. Dürer's brushwork is controlled yet lively, particularly in the luminous flesh tones that seem to glow from within.

Color-wise, we're dealing with a restrained palette that packs a punch. Rich blacks dominate, broken by the crisp white of the shirt collar and the warm ochres of the face. It's in the skin tones that Dürer really flexes his muscles - subtle pinks, yellows, and blues blend seamlessly to create an illusion of living flesh.

There's a hint of movement in the slight turn of the head, as if our sitter has just noticed us and is about to speak. It's this sense of arrested motion that gives the portrait its electric charge. Dürer captures not just a likeness, but a moment - a flash of personality frozen in time.

This work marks a turning point for Dürer. Gone are the fussy details of his earlier portraits, replaced by a bold simplicity that verges on the modern. It's a harbinger of the monumental style he'd perfect in his later religious works.

In the end, what we have here is more than just a portrait. It's a declaration of humanist values, a celebration of individual worth and potential. Our young man stares out at us across the centuries, every inch the cocksure face of a new age. Dürer's genius lies in making us feel like we could reach out and touch him.