The Three Trees

The Three Trees is the largest and most famous of Rembrandt's twenty-six landscape etchings. Nearly two-thirds of the image is filled with a lively passing storm, a comment on nature's inescapable power. A closer look, however, reveals that various human activities are unfolding beneath the roiling sky. Up on the dike behind the three trees, a wagonload of travelers heads toward the tiny figure of an artist sketching. At left, an angler tries his luck; at far right, two lovers try to conceal themselves in the bushes. The three trees themselves have religious connotations, signifying not only the Trinity but also the three crosses on Calvary.