Untitled [reclining nude leaning on her right arm] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this drawing of a reclining nude leaning on her right arm, with what looks like charcoal on paper. I love the restless energy in this piece; the layering of marks and the way Diebenkorn keeps searching for the form. It’s like he’s thinking through the charcoal, figuring out the body's weight and volume one stroke at a time. You can almost feel the give and take between the eye, the hand, and the subject. The charcoal is thick in places, particularly in the lower legs, creating this shadowed effect. The figure has been modeled using closely packed hatched lines. The marks around the head are much fainter and sketchier. To me, this contrast makes the drawing feel alive, like it’s breathing. It reminds me of Matisse's line drawings, but with a more anxious, searching quality. It’s like he’s wrestling with the form, never quite letting it settle. And maybe that’s the point, the beauty is in the struggle, in the act of seeing and trying to capture it on paper.