Untitled [seated female nude with left leg tucked under] 1955 - 1967

This is an untitled drawing of a seated nude, created by Richard Diebenkorn. You can see how the image appears to emerge, or maybe recede, from the page, as the artist’s hand moves around the figure, seeking out its form. There’s a real immediacy to the line work, like Diebenkorn is thinking through the figure as he draws. Notice how the lines aren’t always continuous, but broken and searching. I find it very compelling, almost like the drawing is incomplete, which is also a kind of honesty about artmaking as a process. In particular, I love the rendering of the foot, which has this awkward, unresolved quality, like it’s in the process of becoming. I also see the influence of Matisse, with Diebenkorn using line to create a sense of volume and form. Ultimately, art is about this kind of open-ended exploration. There's no right or wrong, only different ways of seeing and experiencing.