Besides a vast oeuvre of paintings and drawings, Rembrandt van Rijn produced some 290 prints. His mastery in this field is undisputed; he is generally considered a great etching artist, if not the greatest of all. Rembrandt's unforced line work, the unique deep black in many of his etchings and his masterful use of the dry needle technique were popular even then, and his work was much sought after by print collectors of his time. Landscape prints were hugely popular in the 17th century. The portrayal of the Dutch landscape reached an all-time high in Rembrandt's work.
The Three Trees is Rembrandt's most famous landscape set. The trees were probably on the Diemerzeedijk. The silhouette of Amsterdam is visible in the background In this etching, Rembrandt uses strong contrasts between light and dark. The dark areas are accentuated with drypoint and burin.
