Untitled [nude reclining on her left thigh] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this understated drawing of a nude, sometime in his career, with what looks like charcoal on paper. The first thing that strikes me is the economy of line. It’s like he's mapping the figure with the fewest possible marks, each one holding so much information. Look how the charcoal catches the paper's texture, giving the lines a broken, almost fragile quality. There’s something raw and immediate about it, isn’t there? The way he suggests form with just a few strokes reminds me of Matisse. Both artists share an interest in the pure expression of form. But unlike Matisse's more fluid line, Diebenkorn's feels hesitant, searching. It's as if he’s discovering the figure as he draws it, a testament to the enduring power of drawing as a mode of thinking.