Rembrandt van Rijn

The Three Trees

1643
Among the largest and most celebrated of Rembrandt’s landscape prints, this work was created by the artist in Amsterdam at the end of the period of his greatest professional success. The panorama is sufficiently naturalistic to have been identified as a view near Diemerdijk, outside Amsterdam, which is just visible on the distant horizon. The main image of three trees silhouetted against a light sky, however, is a dramatic invention. This element awakens in the viewer thoughts of the Crucifixion at Calvary, and the fierce rainstorm reinforces the mood of that reference.
Title
The Three Trees
Date
1643
Medium
Print
Materials
etching with drypoint and engraving on laid paper
Dimensions
21.8 x 28.7 cm; plate: 20.8 x 28 cm
Nationality
Dutch
Credit line
Purchased 1939
Accession number
4481