Untitled [woman holding her chin and reading] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn drew this woman holding her chin and reading, with ink on paper. It’s all lines, really economical, and kinda zippy. I love how with just a few strokes he catches her absorption. What’s she reading, I wonder? Is it a page-turner, or is she studying something? I feel like I’ve been that woman, propping my chin up, trying to stay awake through some dense text. There’s something very intimate and immediate about Diebenkorn’s line. You can see the hand moving, almost feel the pressure on the pen. I feel like this drawing could be a cousin to Matisse’s line drawings. Artists riff off each other, you know? It's this ongoing conversation across time. You try something, I try something, and on it goes. It's never-ending, thank goodness.