Untitled [front view of seated female nude] 1955 - 1967

This is Richard Diebenkorn's "Untitled [front view of seated female nude]", and he made it with ink on paper. The work feels immediate, a quick study, like a thought jotted down. I love the way he uses the ink, sometimes as a wash, sometimes as a sharp, decisive line. Look at the figure’s face – a few bold strokes suggest the planes and shadows, her gaze directed down. It's almost confrontational, but also vulnerable. Then there are the hands, a web of lines, unfinished but so full of energy. Notice too, how the weight of the ink varies across the image: from the light grey wash in the background and torso, to the sharp black lines defining the figure’s limbs. There’s a tension here, between representation and abstraction. It reminds me a little of Matisse, that same economy of line, the ability to capture so much with so little. It makes you wonder, what is essential when we look, when we make, when we try to capture something real?