Cihuateotl 1521

This stone sculpture of Cihuateotl was created by Aztec artists sometime between 1300 and 1521. The figure is powerfully symmetrical, marked by a skull-like face and hands positioned at the chest. Its very form merges life and death. The rough, textured surface of the stone gives the sculpture an immediate, tangible quality. The rigid lines and geometric forms of the sculpture are in contrast with the rounded, skeletal face. This contrast destabilizes conventional notions of beauty and representation. As an icon of a woman who died in childbirth, Cihuateotl blurs the lines between the sacred and the profane. The sculpture's visual elements serve as a semiotic system, communicating complex cultural beliefs about death, motherhood, and the afterlife. This imposing sculpture challenges us to confront the transient nature of existence.