In the early 1650's Rembrandt increasingly began to use drypoint for integral parts of his compositions, in particular in his landscapes. While in earlier prints, he only had added some accents in drypoint to what were essentially complete, etched compositions, with The Landscape with the Milkman 'Rembrandt first succeeded in thoroughly integrating drypoint and etching in his landscape prints.' (Schneider, no. 23, p. 120) A year he went even further by creating the Landscape with a Road beside a Canal in pure drypoint.
The burr of the drypoint can be overbearing, yet Rembrandt used it with great delicacy and achieved a remarkably subtle and wide range of tone and weight of lines, from deep black shadows to light grey silhouettes in the misty distance.
Recent commentators have identified the little figure with the buckets in The Landscape with the Milkman as being in fact a fisherman returning with his catch and retitled the print accordingly.