Untitled [front view of nude standing with hands on her belly] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this nude drawing, likely in charcoal, sometime during his career. The lines feel so confident, so sure, but also searching. It’s like he’s feeling his way around the form, not just looking at it. I’m drawn to the way the lines defining the belly and thighs are so economical. Just a few strokes, but they capture the weight and softness of flesh. It’s about suggestion, not description. That patch of scribbled lines between the legs, it could be hair, but it’s also just mark-making, a kind of energy radiating from the center of the body. Diebenkorn's nudes always felt like a conversation with Matisse, but here, I’m also reminded of Picasso’s more tender drawings. Both artists understood that a line could be both a boundary and a caress. Like all great art, this piece invites us to look, but also to feel.