Untitled [seated female nude] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this line drawing of a seated female nude, with ink on paper. It’s a classic subject, handled with such raw immediacy. I love how Diebenkorn has used these simple marks to get right to the essence of what he is seeing. The lines are restless, searching, like he’s trying to figure out the form as he goes. There’s a real sense of his hand moving across the page, mapping out the planes and curves of the body. You can almost feel him squinting, trying to nail down the angles. It reminds me a little of Matisse, but with a kind of American directness and a touch of angst. It’s like he’s saying, “Okay, here it is, no frills, just the pure act of seeing and recording.” And that’s what makes it so compelling. It’s not about perfection, it’s about the messy, beautiful process of trying to capture something real. In this way, artists keep the conversation going through line and form.