Untitled [standing nude holding a chair back with her left hand] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this nude drawing with ink on paper sometime in the 20th century, and just look at the confidence of those marks! I imagine Diebenkorn in his studio, turning around every now and then to look at the model, trying to capture the weight of the body with as few strokes as possible. Look at the way he defines the contours of her torso with such a casual line, and then the dark shadows he pools in her legs and breasts. It's all about contrast, isn’t it? The paint is fluid, alive almost. It makes me think of the nudes of Willem de Kooning, and, of course, the wonderful Matisse. It's like Diebenkorn is in conversation with them, but is so clearly doing his own thing. What is so great about painting, after all, is the way it lets us keep rethinking and re-seeing the world.