Untitled [standing nude resting her knee on a chair seat] [recto] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this brush and ink nude drawing at an unknown date. Look at the way he has put down these marks, these gestures. It’s all about the movement, the action of drawing itself. The ink is fluid, pooling in some areas, almost transparent in others. You can almost see him figuring out the form, losing it, then finding it again. Look at the chair – it’s barely there, just a few dark lines, but they’re enough to suggest its form. And then there’s that one long, dark stroke that cuts through the composition, anchoring the figure to the chair. It's a really powerful, almost violent mark. Diebenkorn often explored the figure in his work, but he was also interested in abstraction, and I think this drawing really sits on the border between the two. It reminds me a bit of Willem de Kooning, the way he used expressive brushstrokes to create a sense of energy and movement. It’s not about getting it ‘right,’ but about exploring the possibilities of the medium.