Untitled [figure tilting her head back slightly] 1955 - 1967

This untitled drawing of a figure with their head tilted back was made by Richard Diebenkorn, likely using graphite on paper. Look at the varied pressure of the lines and the way Diebenkorn moves from confident definition to tentative searching. It really speaks to the process of looking and feeling his way around the form. There’s a gentleness to the hatching around the neck and cheek, the way the lines almost caress the paper. But there’s also a kind of shorthand at play, especially in the hair, which is evoked with just a few quick strokes. Notice that the lines around the eye socket and cheekbone are quite definite, whereas the mouth is much softer. The figure has a contemplative air, a quiet kind of beauty that reminds me a bit of some of Giotto’s figures. Like Diebenkorn's later abstract paintings, there is an openness and honesty to this work that invites contemplation.