Untitled [seated female nude with leg pulled into chair] [recto] by Richard Diebenkorn

Untitled [seated female nude with leg pulled into chair] [recto] 1955 - 1967

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drawing, pencil

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portrait

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pencil drawn

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drawing

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figuration

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bay-area-figurative-movement

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pencil drawing

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pencil

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line

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portrait drawing

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nude

Dimensions: overall: 40.6 x 27.9 cm (16 x 11 in.)

Copyright: National Gallery of Art: CC0 1.0

Richard Diebenkorn made this 'Untitled Seated Female Nude' drawing with what looks like charcoal, and you can really see the process. The marks aren't too precious; there's a real fluidity to how he's laid down those lines. Looking at the texture, it's not about hiding anything. The charcoal is kind of dry and crumbly in places, which I love – it lets the paper breathe. You can see these ghostlike erasures around the subjects head where he moved the lines around. There's a real sense of touch in the way he layers and overlaps the lines to describe form. Like, look at that foot; the way he's captured the angle of it with just a few strokes is really cool. This drawing reminds me of Matisse. Like Diebenkorn, he had this knack for making something simple feel really profound, capturing the essence of a form with just a few marks. For me, art is not about definitive statements; it's an invitation to look and feel.

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