Collections: Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art: Untitled [Guanaroca (First Woman)]

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Untitled [Guanaroca (First Woman)]

Ana Mendieta depicted goddess figures throughout her oeuvre in a variety of media, including leaves, fire, earth and, as in this piece, a rock wall carving that has been photographed. Like many artists in the 1970s, Mendieta was interested in the feminist reclamation of goddess imagery and the idea of a pre-patriarchal society in which women’s social role was celebrated. Like those created by her feminist counterparts, Mendieta’s goddess has exaggerated sexual features that emphasize fertility, including large thighs. This particular limestone carving was made in Jaruco, Cuba, about an hour outside of Havana, and refers to a Taíno goddess from an ancestral heritage that the artist identified as her own.


• Artist: Ana Mendieta, American, born Cuba, 1948-1985
• Medium: Gelatin silver photograph
• Dates: 1981/1994
• Dimensions: 53 1/2 x 39 1/2 in. (135.9 x 100.3 cm)
• Collections: Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art
• Museum Location: This item is not on view
• Accession Number: 2007.15
• Edition: Posthumous print edition 1 of 3
• Credit Line: Gift of Stephanie Ingrassia
• Copyright: © The Estate of Ana Mendieta
• Image: Overall, CUR.2007.15.jpg. Photograph courtesy of Galerie Lelong, New York, 2008
Ana Mendieta (American, born Cuba, 1948-1985). Untitled [Guanaroca (First Woman)], 1981/1994. Gelatin silver photograph, 53 1/2 x 39 1/2 in. (135.9 x 100.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Stephanie Ingrassia, 2007.15 (Photo: Photograph courtesy of Galerie Lelong, New York, CUR.2007.15.jpg)
• Catalogue Description: Black and white photograph of carved cave Cueva del Aguila, Escaleras de Jaruco, Havana.