Untitled [seated figure with bare shoulder] [recto] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this drawing of a seated figure with bare shoulder, using ink wash on paper. It's a study in tone, light, and shadow, rendered with these loose, confident strokes. I can imagine Diebenkorn in his studio, squinting at the model, brush in hand. There is a dance between what he sees and what he feels. The dark, pooling ink around her head and shoulder gives the figure weight, presence. But then, look at the way he suggests the legs with just a few lines, leaving the rest to our imagination. This kind of reduction is so Diebenkorn! It reminds me of his landscapes. The way he would simplify the world into planes of color and light. This drawing is like a prelude to his later abstractions, a search for the essence of form. We are all just borrowing from each other, trying to figure out how to express the inexpressible.