Untitled [front view of a standing female nude] 1955 - 1967

This is an undated, untitled drawing of a standing female nude by Richard Diebenkorn, made with what looks like a quick application of ink on paper. The most striking thing is the immediacy of the line. It’s so raw and direct, like a thought captured in real time. The figure is rendered with an economy of means, a sort of shorthand that conveys so much with so little. The lines are wiry, almost tentative in places, but they come together to create a powerful sense of presence. There's a wonderful tension between what's there and what's left out, a kind of openness that invites you to fill in the blanks. I’m reminded a little of Matisse. They both share a love for the expressive potential of line, for the way it can suggest form and volume without ever fully defining it. But where Matisse is all about elegance and grace, Diebenkorn has a kind of rawness, a willingness to embrace imperfection. And for me, that’s what makes his work so compelling.