Untitled [female nude in a patterned setting] 1955 - 1967

This drawing of a female nude in a patterned setting was made by Richard Diebenkorn, but when exactly, we can’t say for sure. Look at how Diebenkorn uses simple hatching to build up the form of the body and the space around it. These aren’t just lines, they’re like a code, each one a decision, a breath, a micro-movement. Notice the dense, energetic scribbles that model the figure’s torso, compared to the more open, airy marks defining the floral wallpaper behind her. The way the charcoal bites into the paper feels intimate, immediate. Diebenkorn’s obviously thinking about Matisse, but also, maybe, about the Bay Area figurative tradition. Like, how do you take a classic subject—the nude—and make it feel fresh, personal, alive? It’s like he’s asking: How can we make a picture both seen and felt?