Landscape with Three Gabled Cottages is perhaps the most atmospheric rendering of a theme that appears repeatedly in Rembrandt's etchings - a bucolic view down a country lane lined with cottages and trees. The print is closely related to a drawing, Landscape with Cottages (Benesch 835; Kupferstichkabinett der Staatlichen Museen, Berlin; inv. no. KdZ 3116), which depicts a similar cluster of farm buildings, known as langhuizen. The exact location of this etching has not been identified, however, the langhuizen (longhouses) were typical of the region around Amsterdam, particularly along the old roads, the Sloterweg, the Amstelveenseweg, and the Diemerdijk.
As the print varies from the drawing in several respects, it is generally thought that the artist composed the scene from more than one study. However, it has also been suggested that he had begun working on the plate outdoors, and completed it in the studio. This would explain the removal of a section of the tree, still faintly visible in the sky above the foliage over the central chimney. This combination of naturalistic observation and artistic intervention is typical of many of Rembrandt's etched landscapes, where fidelity to the subject is subordinate to composition and atmosphere.