Untitled [reclining nude with her hand over her mouth] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this reclining nude drawing with ink and wash, and what strikes me is the confidence in the marks. It's like he's feeling his way around the form, not worried about getting it "right," but more interested in the process of seeing. Look at the way he uses the wash to create these translucent shadows that give the figure weight and volume, and the heavy outline which grounds the whole image. The texture and color of the paper peeks through, giving the drawing a sense of lightness, and the stark contrast between the black ink and the white paper creates a powerful visual impact. Notice the hand covering her mouth. It’s a bold stroke, almost cartoonish, but it adds this layer of intimacy and vulnerability to the piece. Diebenkorn was known for his "Ocean Park" series, which has a similar balance of abstraction and representation. Both embrace a kind of open-endedness, inviting us to linger, to look, and to find our own meaning in the space between the lines.