Untitled [female nude reclining on a lounge chair] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this drawing with graphite on paper. I can imagine him, sitting close to the model, squinting to capture the light on her body. There's a casualness to this drawing, an intimacy. It's unfinished, like a snapshot of a moment. You can see Diebenkorn's hand moving across the page, the pressure of the graphite creating a range of tones. Look at how he suggests the form of her legs with just a few lines, so simple and economical. He trusts the viewer to fill in the blanks, activating the space in the drawing. I bet Diebenkorn was thinking about Matisse when he made this. Both artists have a love for the female form, and the play of light and shadow. But Diebenkorn brings a certain American sensibility to it, a kind of laid-back coolness. For me it speaks to the ongoing conversation among artists across time.