Cottage near the Entrance to a Wood

For a painter whose primary concern was the human figure, Rembrandt drew and etched a remarkably large number of landscapes. This view of a cottage near the edge of a wood, although characteristic in subject matter, is exceptional among his landscapes for its fluidity of line, profusion of wash, and large scale. This is the artist's largest landscape drawing, and one in which the cottage architecture somewhat overwhelms nature. Although the number of drawings firmly attributed to Rembrandt has diminished in recent years, following more rigorous and systematic evaluations of his drawn oeuvre, this impressive sheet has stood its ground. The drawing is signed and dated 1644 in the same pen and ink used to lightly sketch in the main elements.

The painter and topographical draftsman Lambert Doomer (1624-1700) copied this drawing on several occasions. We may surmise that he owned Rembrandt's original, for it was probably bound in one of five drawing albums acquired by Doomer during the auction of Rembrandt's studio effects in 1657-58.