Untitled [female model seated with crossed legs] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this brush and ink drawing of a seated model. I see a cascade of dark fluid marks. It must have felt so immediate, like a dance! A swift movement, a pause, another stroke—each one registers the artist's physical presence and their intimate engagement with the subject. I try to imagine what Diebenkorn might have been thinking when he made this. Was he trying to capture the essence of the model's pose, or was he more interested in the play of light and shadow across her form? The ink is thin in places, allowing the paper to breathe, and thick in others, creating a sculptural effect. Those confident strokes around the torso and legs suggest a real sense of volume. It's a conversation between artist and model, but also between Diebenkorn and the history of drawing. Artists are constantly in dialogue with one another, building upon the ideas and techniques of those who came before. Drawing is a form of embodied expression, embracing ambiguity and open to multiple interpretations.