Landscape with Three Gabled Cottages Beside a Road

"Landscape with Three Gabled Cottages Beside a Road" is an exquisite print by Rembrandt van Rijn, dated 1650. Executed in etching and drypoint, this work exemplifies the Dutch Golden Age master’s skill in depicting the vernacular Dutch countryside. The technique, particularly the heavy application of drypoint, allows for rich, velvety shadows and deeply incised lines that lend texture and immediacy to the composition.

The subject matter focuses on a quiet rural scene: three distinct gabled houses stand clustered beside a winding road, which draws the viewer's eye toward the horizon. Rembrandt skillfully uses variations in line weight to differentiate the dense foliage of the trees from the architectural details of the cottages. Unlike his more theatrical narrative scenes, this piece presents a starkly realistic landscape, capturing the familiar geography outside Amsterdam and elevating simple roads and humble structures into significant artistic subjects.

This specific impression of the work is recorded as the third of three states, often prized for showing the final refinements and darkening effects achieved by the drypoint burr before the copper plate wore down from subsequent use. As one of Rembrandt’s most evocative landscape prints, the image is housed in the respected collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The enduring popularity of Landscape with Three Gabled Cottages Beside a Road ensures that high-quality prints remain widely accessible, affirming the work's standing within the broader public domain of 17th-century European art history.