REMBRANDT HARMENSZOON VAN RIJN (DUTCH 1606-1669) THE THREE TREES (B., HOLL. 212; NEW HOLL. 214; H. 205), 1643 etching with engraving and drypoint, on laid paper, watermark Foolscap with five-pointed Collar (Hinterding A-a-a), New Hollstein's only state, a brilliant, early impression of this highly important subject, printing very richly and darkly, with intense contrasts and bright highlights, the burr and sulphur tinting in the sky very pronounced, with small margins the sheet 21.8cm x 28.3cm (8 ½in x 11in) Christiaan Josi (1768-1828), Amsterdam and London (see Lugt 573, without mark); his posthumous sale, Christie's, London, 18-21 March 1829, lot 83 'Most Brilliant Impression' (£12; to Seguier)William Seguier (1771-1843), London (Lugt 2277), acquired at the above sale, with his pencil signature verso; his posthumous sale, Christie's, London, 29 April - 3 May 1844, lot 431 (£23-12-6; to Hawkins)John Heywood Hawkins (1803-1877), London and Bignor Park, Sussex, his purchase price inscribed in Greek letters (see Lugt 3023); acquired at the above saleProbably with Colnaghi & Co., London; acquired from the aboveWalter Francis Duke of Buccleuch (1806-1884), London and Dalkeith, Scotland (Lugt 402); probably acquired from the above, with his collection ink mark verso; his posthumous sale, Christie's, London, 19-22 April 1887, lot 1954 ('from the Seguier and Hawkins Collections') (£165; to Meder)With Louis Gerhard Meder (1848-1924) (of Amsler & Ruthardt), Berlin; presumably acquired on behalf of the belowSammlung der Königlichen Museen, Berlin, dated 1887 (Lugt 1610); presumably acquired from the above; with their de-accession stamp verso (Lugt 2482); their sale, Amsler & Ruthardt, Berlin, 6 March 1899 (and following days), lot 1600 ('Die Gewitterlandschaft mit den drei Bäumen. S. 212. Des Meisters Hauptblatt unter den Landschaften; das prachtvolle Exemplar der Sammlung Buccleuch, auf Schellenkappenpapier und mit 3 mm Rand ringsum. Exemplare von der Schönheit und vortrefflichen Erhaltung des vorliegenden sind von höchster Seltenheit und Kostbarkeit.')Dr Julius Elischer von Thurzóbánya (1846-1909), Budapest (Lugt 824, stamped twice); probably acquired at the above saleWith Kennedy Galleries, New York, with their stock number a48042 in pencil versoRobert Woods Bliss (1875-1962) and Mildred Barnes Bliss (1879–1969), Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C. (Lugt 2004a); presumably acquired from the aboveDumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington D.C; presumably part of the donation from the aboveWith R. M. Light & Co., Santa Barbara, CaliforniaPrivate Collection, acquired from the above on 31 January 1980; then by descentChristie's London, Old Master Prints, 9 December 2021, lot 126Acquired from the above by Hugo Burge Literature: Bartsch, Hollstein 212; New Hollstein 214; Hind 205Cynthia P. Schneider, Rembrandt’s Landscapes – Drawings and Prints, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (exh. cat.), 1990, no. 75, pp. 240-42 (another impression illustrated)Erik Hinterding, Rembrandt Etchings from the Frits Lugt Collection, Fondation Custodia, Paris, 2008, no. 167, pp. 390-93 (another impression illustrated)Nicholas Stogdon, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Etchings by Rembrandt in a Private Collection, Switzerland, privately printed, 2011, no. 93, pp. 158-9 (another impression illustrated)The Three Trees is Rembrandt’s largest and most elaborate landscape etching and is considered a masterpiece within his oeuvre.