Untitled [reclining nude resting on her side and arms] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this untitled nude drawing, probably in the 60’s, with a black marker on paper. I love the attitude in this drawing! It's so casual and free, like a sketchbook idea. The lines don't try to be precious; they just exist to say something about volume and space. Look at the curve of her back, and how it's defined by one single confident stroke. Then there are all these extra lines around her legs and the couch – they don’t quite describe a real space but suggest one. It reminds me of Matisse, especially his drawings of nudes, but Diebenkorn brings his own sensibility. His work is more raw, somehow, even though it still has this elegant quality. Art is always a conversation, isn’t it?