(Copenhagen, Denmark 1625 – Copenhagen 1688)
Danish historian and State Councillor

Son of Bishop Hans Hansen, he began his early education at home in Copenhagen before completing his studies abroad.

Between 1647 and 1651, he studied in Leiden, Netherlands as well as in France and Spain.  On June 29, 1652, he matriculated in Padua and participated as an acting council member of the Germanic nation.

He graduated in Canon and Civil Law in 1653. In December of the same year, he returned to Copenhagen where he became a professor and State Councillor.  He was a writer and a deep connoisseur of Scandinavian antiquities.  Resen was the first editor of the Prose Edda, and Atlas Danicus, unfortunately much of his work was lost due to a fire in 1728.

The restoration of the Pier Giov. Resenius canvas has been supported by Sven C. Oehme e Beatrice De Bacco Oehme