Untitled [nude in an armchair sitting on one leg] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this charcoal drawing of a nude in an armchair with a sensitivity to line that really grabs you. The marks are searching, immediate – you get the feeling he’s working and reworking the figure, trying to nail down its essence. The beauty of charcoal is how raw and direct it is; it's all about the surface. Here, the smudges and soft lines create a tender atmosphere, while the sharp, dark strokes bring definition to the form. Look at the way he’s described the curve of her leg, or the shadow under her arm – it’s economical but so expressive. The physicality of the medium is clear, you can almost feel the charcoal dust on your fingertips. That one bold line across her thigh seems to hold the whole composition together. There's a definite nod to Matisse in Diebenkorn's approach here, and that makes sense given art is really one long conversation between artists. Drawings like this remind us that art is as much about the process of looking and feeling as it is about the final image.