Untitled [seated female nude resting her left arm on a stool] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this drawing of a seated female nude resting her left arm on a stool with, what looks like, a charcoal stick. It's direct, it's honest. He’s working something out. I'm really drawn to the way Diebenkorn handles the charcoal here. Look at the hatch marks building up the shadow on her body, so quick and sure. See how the lines aren’t just descriptive; they’re active, full of energy? It feels like he's wrestling with the form, trying to capture its essence without getting bogged down in detail. I mean, check out her foot – just a few scribbled lines, but it totally reads. It's like he’s saying, "I see you, body. I see your weight, your shape, your gesture." This reminds me of Matisse, the way he could evoke so much with so little. It's not about perfection; it's about the vitality of the line. And that's what keeps me coming back to drawings like this – that sense of immediacy, the feeling that you’re witnessing an artist thinking on paper.