Carmen Zita Aldunate Salas (10 February 1940 – 25 September 2026) was a Chilean painter and illustrator. After studying art at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, the University of Chile, and the University of California, Davis, Aldunate began teaching painting and drawing. Associated with the Nueva Figuración movement, Aldunate's work centred on women, whom she often painted dressed in medieval clothing.

Aldunate worked as a painter for over 60 years, retiring in 2024 after losing much of her eyesight. She became a member of the in 2004 and was nominated, in 2021, for the Chilean National Prize for Plastic Arts.

Early life and education Aldunate was born in Viña del Mar, Chile, on 10 February 1940, the youngest of four children born to Eliana Salas Edwards and Jorge Aldunate Eguiguren. She was a descendent of José Miguel Carrera; María Edwards was also a relation. Aldunate grew up on in Santiago.

She became interested in art at a young age; many of the women in her family, including her mother and grandmother, were painters. She left school shortly before graduating, when a teacher accused her of stealing a quince. At the age of 17, she enrolled in the arts department of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, but was expelled after bringing a nude model to class. She apologised and was allowed to return, but soon left again. She also studied at the University of Chile and, for six or seven years during the 1960s, lived in the United States to study art at the University of California, Davis. In the United States, she met artists including Willem de Kooning and William T. Wiley; she also claimed to have hung out with hippies, "with her breasts out", during the Vietnam War.

Artists under whom Aldunate studied included José Balmes, Nemesio Antúnez, Roser Bru, Mario Carreño, , and Alberto Piwonka.

Career After leaving the University of California, Aldunate was hired to teach painting and drawing at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. In 2004, she became a full member of the .

She provided illustrations and drew the front cover of the 2020 book , an anthology about the then-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and Haydée Correa's 2005 , a biographical dictionary dedicated to Chilean women. In 2021, she was nominated for the Chilean National Prize for Plastic Arts; that year's award was won by Francisco Gazitúa. Aldunate announced her retirement from the art world in 2024, after her exhibit () at the in Vitacura, Santiago. Having been a painter for over sixty years, Aldunate stopped painting in 2023 after losing much of her eyesight.

Aldunate described her work, which was often focused on women, especially dressed in medieval clothing, as inspired by both the Renaissance and Surrealist movements; her work was reminiscent of the pre-Renaissance period. In later years, her breast cancer and medical issues became a recurring theme in her paintings. She was associated with the Nueva Figuración movement and primarily worked with oil paints on canvas.

Her art was in the permanent collection of the in Punta del Este, Uruguay, the Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts, the , and the gallery of the Universidad de Concepción. 132 of her paintings are owned by the .

She was the subject of the biography , written by historian .

Exhibitions During her life, Aldunate held over 100 exhibits in both Chile and abroad, including over 26 solo exhibitions. These include:

1963: Galería Central, Chile 1964: Belmonte Art Gallery, Sacramento, California, U.S. 1967: Galería Carmen Waugh, Chile 1968: Instituto Cultural de Providencia, Santiago, Chile 1968: Galería de Arte Contemporáneo, Viña del Mar, Chile 1969: Art Department, University of California, Davis, U.S. 1973: Galería C.A.L., Chile 1973: Pernambuco, Brazil 1975: Galería Imagen, Chile 1976: Galería Rubbers, Buenos Aires, Argentina 1976: Galería Imagen, Chile 1977: Galería 9, Lima, Peru. 1978: Galería Epoca, Chile. 1979: Museo Arte, Maldonado, Uruguay. 1980: Galería 9, Lima, Peru. exhibit (in a series of group exhibits from 1980 to 1981, organized by the Departamento de Extensión Cultural) 2006: (group exhibit), Teatro de Zapallar, Chile 2006: (group exhibit), , ) 2015: (group exhibit) 2017: (), Las Condes Design space) 2024: (), Ralli Museum in Vitacura

Awards and nominations 1962: First place at the Santiago Plastic Art Show 1963: First place at the University of Chile art show 1967: Painting prize at the Santiago Museum of Contemporary Art 1978: Bienal de Punta del Este (first place) 1981: IV American Biennial of Graphic Arts (honorable mention)' 2021: National Prize for Plastic Arts (nominated)

Personal life and death Aldunate was married for forty years, beginning to Juan José Romero, whom she met when the pair were children; the marriage ended in divorce, though she and Romero remained friends. The couple had two daughters, one of whom, María José Romero, was also an artist.

In 2015, Aldunate gave an interview with The Clinic where she described the Mapuche people as "lazy and drunk" and dismissed student protests; these comments were met negatively on social media.

Aldunate began experiencing macular degeneration in the 1980s, which resulted in her losing sight in one eye; she had a live-in caretaker for over thirty years. In the final years of her life, her eyesight had severely deteriorated in both eyes and she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She died on 25 September 2026, at the age of 86.

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