Untitled [female nude seated on floor with arms on a chair seat] 1955 - 1967

This is a drawing of a female nude made with pencil and what looks like some kind of wash on paper by Richard Diebenkorn. The lines feel quick and searching, like the artist is feeling around for the right form and the right angle. There's an appealing looseness to the work. It's very gestural. You can see the physicality of the medium in the sweeps of pencil that define the figure's contours. The wash creates these hazy, mottled areas that soften the overall effect, adding depth and atmosphere. Look at the way the lines around the figure's head and shoulders dissolve into the background, and how the wash almost seems to stain and bleed into the paper. This kind of mark-making reminds me of work by Willem de Kooning; both artists share an expressive approach to the figure. Ultimately, this drawing is a reminder that art is an ongoing process of exploration and discovery, that art is an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time.