Untitled [reclining nude with her legs crossed] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this untitled charcoal drawing of a reclining nude, at an unknown date. The figure is rendered with confident, if somewhat hurried, lines and it captures a sense of intimacy. Made in the United States, it's worth asking how the artist’s position in American society and the art world, might have shaped it. On the one hand, we might see the drawing as fitting into a long tradition of life drawing and figure studies, as taught in art schools. On the other hand, the pose of the model is quite casual, even modern, and the drawing’s open, unfinished character suggests a looseness of approach, that might challenge more conservative ideas about academic skill. Diebenkorn’s drawing can open up to us some interesting questions. What part did the life model play in art education at the time? Was she anonymous, or known? And what are the gender politics involved in the act of drawing a nude? These are just some of the questions that art historians try to answer, using a variety of social and institutional research methods.