The artwork, titled “Santana,” was created by Nicholas Roerich in the year 1928. Executed in tempera on canvas, this painting is a prominent piece within the Symbolism movement, measuring 134.5 by 83.5 centimeters. The symbolic painting is housed at the Jagdish Chandra Bose Memorial Foundation in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
In “Santana,” Roerich employs a rich palette of greens and yellows to evoke a mystical and ethereal landscape. Dominated by imposing cliff faces and cascading waterfalls, the scene is infused with an otherworldly quality. The artist’s use of light accentuates the peaks, illuminating them in stark contrast to the shadowed, verdant slopes below. The composition guides the viewer’s eye through a terrain that is both serene and awe-inspiring, emblematic of Roerich’s symbolic exploration of natural and spiritual realms.