Untitled [striding female nude] [verso] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this sketch of a striding female nude, we don't know exactly when, using graphite on paper. What strikes me is the sense of the figure emerging, or dissolving, through the act of drawing. Look at the way the lines are tentative, searching, almost like he’s feeling his way around the form. There’s a beautiful ambiguity in the way the figure is rendered, a sense of movement and change. It’s not about capturing a fixed image, but more about the process of seeing and representing. Notice how the lines around the shoulder and chest blur and overlap, creating a kind of shimmering effect. It’s as if the figure is in flux, constantly reforming itself. I think of other artists like Giacometti, who also used line in a similar way to convey a sense of fragility and transience. Ultimately, this sketch reminds us that art is not about perfect representation, but about the ongoing conversation between the artist, the subject, and the medium.