Rembrandt The Three Trees Analysis

With religion and personal emotion being expressed, Rembrandt’s The Three Trees has more to offer than a simple Dutch landscape. The three trees are the main attraction of this piece and convey a religious message inspired by Rembrandt’s environment. Rembrandt relies on a unique method of creating dramatic lighting to subtly express his feelings and direct the viewer’s eye within the piece. What is most interesting about this etching is how humans are used in this piece, the human figures in the etching express an emotional message that requires the viewer to know part of Rembrandt’s life to fully appreciate. Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn expresses his current emotions influenced by Dutch society and events in his personal life by using religious …show more content…
In the 17th century the Netherlands experienced a golden age where economics, science and art flourished. As stated earlier, Rembrandt went against the positive trend in art and continued to create dark and sad pieces which indicate a personal struggle. This struggle is evidently expressed in the lighting of Rembrandt’s The Three Trees. There is a lack of humanity in this etching and where there are signs of it such as the couple fishing by the pond, there is darkness surrounding them. The rough and arguably careless hatching composed of haphazardly placed lines in the upper half of the etching are dark and set a dull mood. Rembrandt having been struggling financially at this time would have expressed associated emotions in his art. On the other hand, the brighter areas of the piece surround the three trees which represents the holiness of the Trinity. This piece greatly resembles the few landscape paintings Rembrandt has made especially when considering the sad mood they all seem to illustrate. It is as if the Trees are not “polluted” by the aggressive hatching and darkness that make up the depressing atmosphere of the