Untitled [side view of nude with her hand on her hip] 1955 - 1967

This figure, casually leaning with her hand on her hip, was swiftly captured in ink on paper by Richard Diebenkorn. The monochrome palette feels both immediate and timeless, don’t you think? I can almost feel him, can’t you? I bet he’s standing right there, brush in hand, eyes darting between the model and the page. He’s trying to nail that perfect balance of confidence and vulnerability, economy and expression. Look at the way he’s let the ink bleed and pool, creating these dark, amorphous shapes that suggest shadow and volume. It's like he's building the form from the inside out, letting the ink define the contours and the spaces in between. The figure is suggested through marks and gestures that remind me of Matisse’s drawings, but also hint at something very unique to Diebenkorn. Through this interplay of light and dark, presence and absence, the artist invites us to contemplate the act of seeing itself. It's like he’s reminding us that art isn't about perfect representation, but about capturing a feeling, a moment, a fleeting glimpse of the world around us.