Adolfo Couve Rioseco (March 28, 1940 – March 11, 1998) was a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

an artist and writer. Couve was born in

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

, the first child of three. In his first years, he lived in

Llay-Llay Llay-Llay is a town and commune in the San Felipe de Aconcagua Province of central Chile's Valparaíso Region. History The commune was established on 6 April 1875 during the government of President Federico Errázuriz Zañartu, A railway station ...

and then moved with his family to

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

. He entered the Jesuit San Ignacio School, where he finished high school in 1958. Couve married Martita Carrasco with whom he had a daughter named Camila. The couple separated later. Adolfo Couve lived his last years accompanied by Carlos Ormeno. Couve began his art studies at the Escuela de Bellas Artes, where he was a pupil of Professor Augusto Eguiluz. He lived in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

on a fellowship from 1962 to 1963. He studied at the Ecole de Beaux Arts. Later on he moved to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and studied at the Art's Student League. In this last city, he had his first exhibition in an uptown gallery. Back in Chile, Couve became professor of art at the

Universidad de Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

, where he taught until his death. He was also professor at the

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (''PUC or UC Chile'') ( es, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) is one of the six Catholic Universities existing in the Chilean university system and one of the two pontifical universities i ...

between 1974 and 1981. After 1971 Cuove took a major interest in literature and published a number of literary works which literary critics would later categorize as a distinctive form of "descriptive realism". After a decade of almost complete devotion to literature he rediscovered his painting which he used as a parallel tool in expressing his views on life and the world.Memoria Chilena - Portal de la Cultura Chilena Presentación Adolfo Cuove (1940 – 1998)
/ref> Although Couve gained considerable fame as a painter, his greatest achievements are thought to be his literary works, which include ten volumes of novels, novellas, and short stories. Couve took his own life on the morning of March 11, 1998, in his house in Cartagena.

Literary works

*''Alamiro'' (1965) *''En los desórdenes de junio'' (1974) *''El picadero'' (1974) *''Tren de cuerda'' (1976) *''La lección de pintura'' (1979) *''El pasaje'' (1989) *''La copia de yeso'' (1989) *''El cumpleaños del señor Balande'' (1991) *''El balneario'' (1993) *''La comedia del arte'' (1995) *''Cuarteto de infancia'' (1997) *''Cuando pienso en mi falta de cabeza (La segunda comedia)'' (1998).

References

1940 births 1998 suicides People from Valparaíso Chilean male writers Chilean people of French descent Suicides by hanging in Chile Gay artists LGBT writers from Chile 20th-century Chilean painters Chilean male artists Chilean male painters 1998 deaths Male painters 20th-century LGBT people 20th-century Chilean male artists {{Chile-painter-stub