Starkly outlined against a patch of clear sky, Rembrandt’s three trees appear solid and motionless—in contrast to the meteorological drama unfolding on the left side of the composition. They have often been seen as evoking the three crosses of the Crucifixion, thus imbuing the landscape with biblical connotations. This somber reading, however, is undermined—or complicated, at least—by the lively quotidian activities that animate the scene: a couple fishing beside the river at left, farmers in the field, and two barely visible lovers hidden in the darkened bushes in the right foreground.
Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669), The Three Trees, 1643. Etching, engraving, and drypoint, 213 x 279 mm. Purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan in 1905, RvR 300.