Untitled [nude lying on her back and cradling her legs] 1955 - 1967

Here's Richard Diebenkorn's untitled drawing of a nude, made with charcoal on paper. I can imagine him, poised, charcoal in hand, circling the figure. A dark restless energy fills the negative space, pressing in on the lighter form. He's laying down the shadows, rubbing them in, building a world of tone and depth. Those sweeping lines are full of feeling, aren't they? I get a real sense of the body, it’s weight and softness. The pose is so self-contained. Is she in pain? Is she relaxed? It reminds me of other nudes, other artists wrestling with how to depict the human form, and how to capture not just likeness but feeling. Think of someone like Egon Schiele, who twisted the body into these impossible positions that expose the nerves. It's like Diebenkorn is in conversation with all those artists, and with us, making visible the act of looking and drawing as one and the same.