Over the course of his career, Rembrandt created more than three hundred prints, including around twenty-six landscape etchings. Unlike many artists of his time, he did not rely on professional engravers to translate his designs into print. Instead, he embraced the process of etching himself, drawn to its spontaneity and expressive potential. This technique allowed him to work directly onto the copper plate with fluidity and freedom, achieving rich tonal contrasts and velvety textures. His hands-on approach set him apart, ensuring that his prints, much like his paintings, remain among the most celebrated and sought-after works in Western art.
Rembrandt was preoccupied by landscape compositions for two distinct periods. An initial period in the 1630s is characterised by work in oils primarily depicting theatrical views of fantastical landscapes. He then returned to landscape subjects from 1641 until 1653 when he produced hundreds of drawings, most of which are sketches of locations around Amsterdam captured while exploring the city on foot. The Three Trees dates from this period, and although the exact location depicted has not been identified, this amalgamation of Dutch landscape motifs would have been immediately recognisable to his contemporary audience.
The print is a true demonstration of Rembrandt’s technical virtuosity. A symphony of light and shade, the composition is marked by his exquisite attention to detail. The sky, often left blank in his prints, sets the tone here with a combination of marks conveying sweeping clouds of varying densities and a heavy downpour of rain moving across the open landscape. Rembrandt includes a variety of figures, including the fishing couple, the artist, and the lovers, each a familiar trope derived from contemporary Dutch pastoral literature. Within the vast landscape the diminutive figurative components are deliberately difficult to discern, emphasising the dominance of nature. To create this impressive drama and atmosphere, Rembrandt combined techniques including various depths of etched lines, drypoint, engraving and speckled tone through sulphur tinting. They weave together to create a rich, luminous surface for a composition that is dramatic and poetic, revealing an artist at the height of his powers.