The Three Trees is Rembrandt’s most elaborate etched landscape. As the day’s shadows grow long, idlers content themselves with fishing and romance by a quiet pond. In the middle ground, a row of trees dominates the composition. To the left, horizontal striations suggest an expansive landscape, with windmills studding the horizon. At the center of the scene, all seems clear and benign, but dramatic cloud formations suggest changing weather.

Image: Rembrandt, The Three Trees, 1643, etching and drypoint. The William M. Ladd Collection, gift of Herschel V. Jones, 1916 P.1,307