Untitled [seated nude pulling back] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this drawing, Untitled [seated nude pulling back], with graphite on paper. It’s a nude figure, rendered in a scrawly line, and I can imagine Diebenkorn’s hand moving across the page, trying to figure out the way the body sits, the weight of the pose. You know, it’s like he's thinking through drawing. The lines are hesitant, searching, as if he's not quite sure where he's going but he's determined to get there. There’s a modesty in it, a humbleness, like he's saying, “I'm not sure I can capture this, but I'm going to try anyway.” I sympathize with that, you know? It's how I feel every time I start a painting. It’s like a conversation, or an argument, with the image itself. And the drawing is the record of that exchange, of that struggle to see and understand.