Untitled [two female nudes resting] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this ink wash drawing of two nudes sometime in the mid-twentieth century in the United States. The drawing is a study of form, light, and shadow. But it's also about the ways in which the artist—and the institutions of art that support him—construct ideas about race and beauty. Notice the contrast in skin tones, as well as the ways the bodies are presented, with one reclining and the other sitting upright. These visual cues play into historical power dynamics within art history, and they speak to a visual culture in which whiteness is often privileged. Consider, too, the absence of a specific title. This anonymity contributes to the objectification of the models, reducing them to studies of form rather than individuals with their own stories. To understand this piece more fully, we might research Diebenkorn's influences, the reception of his work within the California art scene, and the broader social context in which these images were created and consumed.