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Collection

An image of The three trees by Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn

(Netherlands 1606–1669)

Title
The three trees
Year
1643
Media category
Print
Materials used
etching with drypoint and burin
Dimensions

21.6 x 28.3cm sheet (irreg.)

Signature & date
Not signed. Not dated.
Credit
Purchased 1948
Accession number
8131
Location
Not on display
Further information

This deeply evocative landscape etching portrays the full power of nature in flux. The three trees are silhouetted against the light and form a powerful contrast to the rest of the stormy sky. On the skyline on the right a cart full of peasants makes its way slowly along, while farther to the right an artist sits sketching. In the dark shadows of the foreground two lovers are hidden in the foliage. Although it is based on the country around Amsterdam the landscape as a whole is an invention.

Bibliography (4)

Nicholas Draffin (Curator), The bitten image: European etchings from the collection 1980, Domain, 1980, 7. no catalogue numbers

Renée Free, Forest and field: from Claude to the Barbizon School 1995, 'Naturalism in landscape 1', pg. 1-2, Domain, 1995, 1, 2 (illus.), 6. no catalogue numbers

John McPhee, Great collections 2008, New South Wales, 2008, 40 (colour illus.).

National Art Gallery of New South Wales, Etchings by Rembrandt 1948, Sydney, 1948. cat.no. 14

Exhibition history (6)

Etchings by Rembrandt, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1948–1948

The Bitten Image: European etchings from the collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 19 Jul 1980–14 Sep 1980

Forest and field: from Claude to the Barbizon School, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 14 Jul 1995–17 Sep 1995

Light from Shadow, the role of chiaroscuro in spatial imaging, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Paddington, 22 Oct 2003–29 Nov 2003

Old Europe: Prints & drawings from the collection 1500-1800, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 03 Jun 2006–06 Aug 2006

Great collections (2009):