“El morro”

Artist: Rosana Auqué
Year: 2022
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 80 × 80 Cms

About the Artwork

“El Morro” is a commissioned painting created in 2022 using acrylic on canvas. Measuring 80 × 80 cm, the work captures the iconic silhouette of El Morro in Santa Marta — a coastal landmark that defines the city’s horizon and collective memory.

This painting was commissioned by close friends and clients who wished to honor a place that shaped their lives. For Rosana Auqué, the request carried a deeply personal meaning. El Morro is not merely a geographic formation; it is a symbolic presence. It stands at the meeting point between sea and sky, permanence and movement, departure and return.

In Santa Marta, life unfolds around this view. It is visible from the bay, from boats, from the shoreline. It marks orientation. It marks belonging. For many who grew up there, El Morro is inseparable from the idea of home.

The Symbolism of El Morro in Rosana Auqué’s Work

While the painting originates in a specific landscape, its meaning extends beyond location. In this work, El Morro becomes a visual anchor — a form that holds memory.

Rather than rendering it as a strict topographical representation, Rosana approaches the subject through atmosphere and emotional resonance. The horizon dissolves into subtle tonal transitions. The sea is not described in detail but suggested through movement and chromatic vibration. The rock formation stands with quiet solidity, creating a tension between fragility and permanence.

This duality reflects a recurring question within Rosana Auqué’s artistic practice:

How does a place become part of identity?

In “El Morro,” the answer emerges through color, space, and restraint. The composition is balanced yet open. The surface carries light. The painting does not narrate; it invites recognition.

A Commission Rooted in Shared Memory

Commissioned artworks often carry a different emotional weight. They are created in dialogue — between artist and collector, memory and form.

In this case, the work was born from friendship and shared history. The collectors requested the image not as decoration, but as a gesture of continuity. For Rosana, painting El Morro meant returning — through memory — to a landscape that shaped her formative years.

Santa Marta is one of the oldest cities in South America, and its geography holds layers of cultural, historical, and personal meaning. El Morro rises from that context as both witness and guardian.

This painting therefore operates on two levels:

As a contemporary acrylic painting grounded in place

As an intimate reflection on belonging

Technique and Material Presence

“Acrylic on canvas” is not merely a technical detail; it is part of the work’s character.

Acrylic allows for layered transparency and controlled luminosity. In “El Morro,” the medium supports subtle tonal shifts that evoke atmospheric distance. The 80 × 80 cm format creates a contained field — intimate yet expansive.

The square dimension reinforces equilibrium. There is no directional dominance; the composition rests in centered stillness.

The brushwork remains measured. The gesture is restrained. The focus is on presence rather than spectacle.

El Morro as a Contemporary Landscape Painting

Landscape in contemporary art is no longer about description alone. It becomes a site of reflection.

In Rosana Auqué’s interpretation, El Morro is not isolated as an object; it exists in relation to air, light, and horizon. The painting resists dramatic narrative. Instead, it proposes quiet continuity.

Through this approach, “El Morro” aligns with Rosana’s broader exploration of:

Emotional cartography

The relationship between memory and space

The idea of home as lived experience

Artwork Details

Title: El Morro
Artist: Rosana Auqué
Year: 2022
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 80 × 80 cm
Status: Commissioned