Untitled [nude with her left foot on a chair seat] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this drawing, "Untitled [nude with her left foot on a chair seat]," with charcoal on paper. I love the exploratory nature of the marks! See how the lines are searching, sometimes doubling back, as if Diebenkorn is thinking through the form right there on the page? The charcoal has a velvety texture, lending a softness to the figure, but the confident strokes give it a real sense of structure. Notice the way the lines around the model's torso are drawn more boldly; these darker marks create depth, making it feel like she’s emerging from the page. Then there’s the chair – the jumble of lines almost disappearing into the background. Diebenkorn was always interested in the process of seeing and how we translate that into form, a preoccupation that he shared with artists like Giacometti. It’s like he’s inviting us into his studio, to witness the act of creation itself.