Untitled [nude in the studio seen from behind] 1955 - 1967

Curator: Here we have Richard Diebenkorn’s "Untitled [nude in the studio seen from behind]", a drawing made sometime between 1955 and 1967. It captures the back view of a nude figure sketched in charcoal. What strikes you first? Editor: Rawness, definitely raw, you know? Like catching a glimpse of something private. All those unfinished lines, it feels like a stolen moment. Curator: Precisely. Diebenkorn’s use of line is key here. Look how he defines the figure not with precise contours, but with a web of marks, some darker, some fainter, almost vibrating on the page. Editor: It’s like he's feeling his way around the form. The back has this delicate curve that softens, and then you have this dark, blocky shape in the corner. The contrast draws you in, yet holds you back. Curator: I agree. That heavy shadow anchors the figure, suggesting both support and constraint, which brings up some ideas about representation versus presence, absence, erasure... Editor: Which sort of echoes through this era in the mid-century with a whole group of artists. Does the woman turn away out of reluctance, modesty? Also I want to call attention to this mark making as somehow suggestive of lived experience— Curator: Well the tension certainly makes this compelling. What appears so open-ended at first, so relaxed even in pose and rendering, turns quietly brooding as the gaze lingers a moment. Editor: You’re right. It teases with intimacy and the sketchlike quality feels less abandoned and more vulnerable, more genuine... It’s interesting how this seemingly simple drawing carries such an emotional punch, and now feels like less of a glance. Curator: Indeed. And it invites each of us to finish the story, to fill in the blanks of this intimate tableau with our own readings and perspectives.